Wanted Man
by MegaKat
Summary: Nappami Old West AU- Ami is the new schoolmarm in town, and Nappa is a notorious train robber wanted in 3 territories and 2 states. When their worlds collide, fluff, hilarity and eventual smut ensues. Triple-shot, please review, warning for lots of beta blaming in author's notes. My squirrels are exhausted.
1. Chapter 1

**So, my betas and I bullshit and trade ideas and scenarios for characters to be thrown into while we're on Skype, and their newest little sadistic game of sorts is "Who can squirrel Meg the worst/fastest?" So, please, by all means, direct your anger/hate/joy/love at Saiyajin-Neko and AnaFrost. Especially Saiyajin-Neko, lol. **

**Nah, all joking aside, it is kinda funny unless you're actually working on a novel while battling what's turning into walking pneumonia and barking your head off with the worst cough in existence.**

**But I digress… **

**What we have here is an old west AU with Nappami as the pairing, of course. Someone said old west, and mah brain squirrels did the rest… I haven't been able to stop working on it since… and for the record, I was working diligently on Unity when this happened!**

**Anyways, it is what it is, I'm slightly stoned on Tussionex for my cough, so I tend to ramble. So enjoy, and please R&R! Reviews will make me feel better! So will tissues, as I'm running out and don't wanna run to the store for more.**

**Quick note a day later: I was too tired last night to remember to make this note, but I *know* that Comanche territory didn't stretch that far west, just in case any other NAs are reading this story. That area of Arizona was definitely Apache territory, but being Apache myself, I selfishly decided not to cast my people in a negative light. Yup, I'm horrible and I know it, if I offended anyone by the choice, go read some of my other works and I'm sure my level of foul language will offend you worse. Thanks!**

Picking desert flowers for her studies, Ami Anderson raised her head at a sound far out in the distance but couldn't place it, searching the horizon for clouds. It sounded like thunder, but after adjusting her spectacles, she couldn't make out any evidence of an oncoming storm, so she went back to her work, shoving her pile of waist-length curls behind her shoulder and out of her way. "Must be a cattle drive," she remarked to herself as she cut away a cactus flower, taking some of pulp as well as an afterthought and sucking on it to wet her parched throat, dropping the flower into her basket.

The new schoolmarm continued to gnaw thoughtfully on the moist pulp of the cactus, noting that the sound was getting closer. And fast. Studying the horizon yet again, she felt a chill go up her spine at the unmistakable sound of a native war cry and froze in place. "Oh my stars," she whispered after spitting out the cactus, looking around for her horse, catching a glimpse of it grazing on the sparse vegetation a hundred yards away.

She'd worn a practical day dress without any hoops for her trek out into the wilderness, but there was no way she'd be able to make the distance to her horse in her heeled boots, and she trembled as she chose her second best option and spun in place, searching for a suitable hiding place. "Oh God, please hear my prayer and help me," she whispered as she realized there was nowhere to hide—the land was flat and there wasn't so much as a boulder for her to duck behind—knowing that a keen eye would spot her basket and her horse and probably stop to search for her anyway.

Out of options, she began running for her mare, whistling and clucking for it in hopes that it would respond and come to her, but no—it just kept grazing, oblivious to her mistress's panic as the thunder of pounding hooves got ever closer and she clearly spotted a rider tearing across the desert.

That rider was veering towards her, too, and Ami shrieked in terror and sprinted for her horse, her panic driving her legs to pump as hard as they could, but just like in all of the stories she'd read about people running from imminent danger, she tripped and fell, scraping her palms on the hard-packed ground. "Ow! Gosh darn it all to tarnation!" She yelled, only to hear the hooves of a trotting horse closing in on her and coming to a stand-still behind her, casting her in the darkness of a tall shadow.

She flipped onto her back to stare up at a ridiculously huge man sitting astride a black stud who was snorting and prancing a bit, its eyes rolling as its instincts drove it to run, and Ami could only gape and tremble as she recognized the rider. "Y—Y—You're—"

"Royston Nappa, yeah, I _know_ who I am. Now get on unless you feel like getting shot full of Comanche arrows, ma'am," he instructed calmly, bending down and offering his hand, only for it to hang there for several beats. "Well, _come on_, lady! You got a death wish or something!?"

With the war cries getting louder, Ami chose her only viable option and grabbed his hand, standing and gasping at his strength when he effortlessly swung her up ahead of him and partially in his lap. "I can ride on back," she told him as he wound an arm around her waist and steered the horse towards town with the other.

"You won't fall off if I'm holding onto you, ma'am," he grunted as he spurred on his horse and it took off like a shot. Ami squealed in reaction, but she had enough horse sense to lean down against the animal's neck and roll with its movements to make the motions less jarring, even if she was hanging onto the horn of the saddle for dear life.

"They're going to catch us!" She yelled as she heard a whoop and a shout over the thundering of the horse's hooves.

"Bullshit!" The notorious outlaw hollered over all the noise. "Nothing catches Sloane!"

"But the added weight—"

"Phhht, what!? Ma'am, you're ninety pounds soaking wet, even in that whalebone! You're the weight of a horsefly as far as Sloane's concerned!" He laughed behind her, the sound deep and genuine and sexy.

Blushing at her reaction to him, it took Ami a moment to realize he'd commented on her corset, and she gaped at the impropriety of it, turning her head to scowl at him. "While my weight might be a valid issue at the moment, the make of my undergarments is none of your concern!"

"It is when I've got part of it digging into my privates," he countered with another laugh, using his immense strength to haul her up higher on his lap with the arm wound around her waist.

It was then that Ami felt something warm and firm pressing through their clothing and against her inner thigh, and she looked back again, speechless at the indecency of it all. "Why I _never_!"

"I can hardly help it that your bottom is rubbing me in all the right ways, ma'am," Roy replied with a hint of embarrassment, his cheeks turning red even though they were already stained pink from the wind and the exertion.

Sputtering loudly and close to cursing, Ami just turned her head in hopes of seeing the town soon, her own face heating up as she felt a rush of pleasure between her thighs when his hard cock pressed and rubbed at her sex with every roll of her hips. To stop moving in time with the horse would only rattle her teeth and slow their mount, so Ami endured it, whimpering and trembling, biting back a soft moan of surprised pleasure when he gripped her tighter and she felt his warm, rippled chest radiating heat through the back of her dress.

"Sorry," he breathed in her ear, his apology barely audible over the pounding of hooves. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm just as uncomfortable as you."

Uncomfortable wasn't the word Ami would have chosen to describe the little shocks of ecstasy shooting through her with every movement, forcing her to fight down an instinctive urge she'd never felt before that was telling her to grind back against him even harder. "Almost there!" She called before she could dwell on the thought, pointing at the sight of the water tower on the outskirts of town.

_Yeah, I'm definitely almost there, _he thought as he tried to think of his partner, Clyde Vegeta, dancing in makeup and a dress. That image did the trick and his erection instantly deflated, but his sigh of relief was drowned out by what sounded like a soft whimper of needy disappointment from the woman he'd saved. Well, well… had the little beauty in his arms been enjoying the friction as much as he had?

Roy briefly entertained the idea of stopping at the water tower and taking her beneath the cover of the tree next to it to show her a thing or two more about friction, but the fact that they had some very pissed off Comanche warriors hot on their trail dashed the fantasy all to pieces and he urged the horse to run faster.

The town was in sight now, and not wanting to veer from their current path and what distance they had between them and the natives, Nappa thundered on, holding tight to the woman sitting half in his lap as he tore down Main Street like his head was on fire and his ass was catching, hollering at people to move out of his way.

The Comanche wouldn't dare chase them into town, but he couldn't stop, not unless he felt like greeting the dawn with a short drop and a quick stop. Sheriff Bardock would see him hung for sure if he was caught in town.

"There! Stop there!" Ami shouted, pointing at the one room schoolhouse near the general store. "My house is behind the school!"

Blinking in surprise, Nappa only continue to spur the horse on faster as he processed the fact that she was the new schoolmarm in Peach Grove, noting how very young she was for a teacher. They were usually old spinsters that had long given up on marriage, but this woman… she was not only young, but stunningly beautiful, with large, expressive bright blue eyes and thick, lovely black meticulously curled hair that reached her waist. This was a woman that would make _any_ man's dreams come true if she said yes to him.

"I'll take you to the other side of town, ma'am! I ain't about to let Doc catch me in the town square!"

It didn't take them long to run the length of the town, and Ami's heart was thundering by the time he slowed the horse to a halt, pulling up alongside a fence so that she could easily dismount. Pleasantly surprised by the gesture, she had to admit that for a ruffian, he had been quite the gentleman in saving her; not a lot of men in general would have risked their own death for someone they didn't even know out in the middle of a desert. "Thank you," she stated sincerely, turning her head to look up at him, all too aware of the warm arm still wrapped around her waist and the hard chest at her back. "You likely saved my life. And, um… I'm very truly sorry for the um… discomfort," she added bashfully.

"I'm not," he breathed down at her, entranced by her beauty and the way she was shyly glancing up at him through her thick black eyelashes, then back down nervously, then back up again until he held her gaze. "Might be I'd like to try it again sometime. Minus the screaming Injuns chasing us like the hounds of Hades," he chuckled, unable to stop himself from brushing some hair off of her face, noting to himself that her skin felt like silk. "What's your name, darlin'? Just in case I decide I'd like to come callin' and take you for another crazy ride."

Blushing hotly at the thought of having an outlaw—_this_ outlaw—showing up at her door to court her, Ami was so stunned that she actually gave her name, the words coming out in a nervous whisper. "Ami Anderson."

"Well, Ms. Anderson, I must say that it's been a pleasure, and that I've never had a finer riding partner in my whole life." Nappa thought he did a fine job of keeping any innuendo out of his tone, and when she smiled, he knew she hadn't taken his words as such. "Come on, let me help you dismount, ma'am," he offered, seeing no posse behind them so far. They'd be along shortly, though; sure as the sun would rise and set, the sheriff was dead set on catching him and would probably chase him to the ends of the Earth to finally catch him. Or at least to the ends of Arizona Territory.

Nappa slid off the back of the horse then and came around to hold out his hands, taking hers and helping her balance her boots on the wooden fence, catching her smoothly when her heel caught on the board and she fell. "I gotcha, darlin'," he assured her, setting her on her feet carefully, catching her pointed chin between his fingers to tip her face up. "You hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, just a little unsettled, is all," she admitted, her hands still trembling from the entire ordeal.

"You're not gonna faint or anything, are you?" He asked in concern, looking her up and down for any signs of possible swooning.

"I'm not that frail," she snorted, rolling her eyes a bit and huffing at the insult.

Grinning at her show of backbone, Nappa decided to do what he'd wanted to do as they'd approached the water tower, and he dipped his lips to hers, stopping a hair's breadth from kissing her. "Good, then hopefully this won't make you faint, either," he breathed before closing the gap, his arm winding around her waist again and lifting her tightly against him, the fingers on her chin sliding around to twine in her hair when she surprisingly returned the kiss, her lips parting for him when she gasped in surprise.

He kissed her long and slow, savoring the taste of her, and was so caught up in the moment that the sound of hooves only barely registered in his head over her soft moan of desire. "Shit, time to go," he said as he quickly broke the kiss, pecking her once more on the lips and tipping his hat in her direction. "An absolute pleasure making your acquaintance, ma'am. I hope to see you again soon," he said with a wink as he mounted his horse quickly and took off at a gallop.

Ami didn't even have words for that as she watched him ride off, but the moment she heard someone cock a shotgun, she spun in place and instinctively put herself between her rescuer and a clear shot at him. "No!" She shouted up at the sheriff, who was scowling down at her and glaring hotly. "He saved my life! The _least_ you can do is spare him his, Mr. Bardock!"

With a very unhappy grunt, John Bardock uncocked the shotgun and holstered it in the sheath on his saddle, his eyes boring into the little schoolmarm's as he dismounted. "Did he hurt you?"

"N—No, of course not! It's as I told you, he _saved my life_!" She protested hotly, standing on her tiptoes to match his glare with her own.

"Anything to do with the Comanche getting all stirred up and riled?" He pressed.

"Yes, I was about two or three miles south of town, cataloguing the wildlife, when they came long. They were chasing Mr. Nappa, and knowing that they wouldn't spare a thought about killing me too, he insisted that he escort me to safety," Ami answered evenly, knowing that she was spinning the truth a little in Royston's favor… but the fact was, she owed him her life.

"And did he steal anything from you? Your virtue, maybe?" Bardock asked, lifting a brow in curiosity even though he was genuinely concerned, especially under the circumstances in which he'd found the outlaw and the teacher.

"Oh… no," Ami answered shyly, looking down as she touched her still-tingling lips, blushing at the memory of how wonderful and amazing it had felt to be kissed by him. Her first kiss, and it had been one hell of a doozy! "He only stole a kiss, and I won't be filing a claim on the loss of it," she added with a dazed smile.

"Must've been one helluva kiss," a woman spoke up, revealed to be the madame of the cathouse when Ami looked behind the sheriff. "Come on, Doc, come have a drink on me and leave Ms. Anderson alone. I think she's had enough excitement for one day without you breathing down her neck. You'll catch The Shadow another day."

"Yeah, Koto, thanks," the sheriff grunted, but not without pinning Ami in place with a stern look. "If that man comes a callin', you'd best alert me or one of my boys. You might be indebted to him, but he ain't no knight in shining armor, ma'am. He's a train robber… and he's _dangerous_."

Knowing that he meant well, Ami managed a shaky smile for his benefit and nodded. "Of course, sheriff, though I highly doubt he'll come back just to speak with me," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice as she glanced over her shoulder in hopes of catching a glimpse of his back. But no, she saw only his dust trail in the distance and nothing more. Not even a glimpse of his horse's—"Oh no! My mare!" She exclaimed, her hand covering her mouth as she suddenly remembered her poor horse, left out in the desert all by itself, still fully saddled and bridled.

Doc's oldest boy took over at the sight of her distress and smiled down at her from his mount, nodding back towards the south. "Don't worry about her, ma'am, I'll take Kakarot and Turles and hunt her down. The Comanche might have taken her, but they wouldn't have killed her, at least," he added knowingly. "She'll be well-cared for even if you've lost the use of her."

"They might've left her tack, though," Turles offered. "Come on, boys, let's go look."

"Might be you'd like a drink as well, Ms. Anderson?" Koto asked, having stayed behind just in case the schoolmarm had a case of nerves after so much excitement, especially for a woman that had only left the east a few months ago. "Come on, it's really not as scandalous inside my place of business as you would think," she teased, boldly stepping forward and link her arm with the younger woman's. "Despite your high upbringing, we're not all naked painted whores in the brothel, Ami. Well… at least not on the ground level," she added with a saucy grin and a wink. "We're a classy establishment when compared to places run by men. Just good company downstairs, and everyone's fully clothed, I assure you."

At a loss for a response that wouldn't sound impolite, Ami just nodded at the tall, buxom redhead, noting not for the first time how well-groomed and nicely dressed she was, and she let herself be led inside the cathouse and to the bar, where she was promptly poured a shot of whiskey.

"On the house," Koto told her gently as she slid onto a stool beside her. "Whether it's to settle your nerves or to celebrate your first kiss is up to you. Maybe a little bit of both?" She pressed when the teacher blushed prettily and turned her captivatingly blue eyes up to meet equally stunning eyes of green.

"It was definitely an experience," Ami whispered truthfully, still replaying that wonderful kiss that had melted her bones and heated her blood. Even the way they had rubbed against each other in the saddle hadn't set her on fire near as much as the kiss had, and the grinding has been _far_ more scandalous than the stolen moment they'd shared by the fence.

"Ami… just between us girls… without any men listening in… he didn't do anything to you that you didn't want him to… did he?" Koto had seen enough between men and women to know when something more than just an innocent little kiss had occurred, and while the sheriff and his boys hadn't picked up on it, she had. Something more had happened to the teacher, but the fact that she was keeping it to herself was worrying.

Surely Roy hadn't forced anything on her, right? She'd seen the man around women, and while he was a typical foul-mouthed man when he was well into his drinks, Koto had never even heard of him roughing up a woman, let alone seen it. In fact, all of the stories indicated that he was a complete sweetheart when it came to women. "Ami?" The madame asked again, laying a gentle hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "Ami, answer me. Did Roy… have any knowledge of you against your will?"

"No, no! Nothing like that!" She insisted softly, hissing out her reply in a whisper so as not to be overheard. "It…it's just that… when we were riding… um… things got a little… uncomfortable," she explained as delicately as she could, her face so red that her blush was travelling to the top of her bodice. "For both of us."

"Oh," Koto huffed in confusion, only to crack a slow smile and laugh silently, shaking from the force of it. "Oooooooh! Hahaha, oh you poor thing! I'll bet that that was a fun little surprise, wasn't it!?" She cackled, slapping the bar for a drink. "Get her another one—a—as well!" She howled. "She needs it!" It took the madame a couple minutes to be able to lower her voice again and she sipped her whiskey, still chuckling here and there as she grinned mischievously at the lovely teacher. "So… tell me. Hm… how do I say this? The discomfort you mentioned… was there any _relief _to it in the end?"

Momentarily confused, Ami only looked up at the much taller woman blankly, but when realization dawned on her face, her mortification was obvious and she quickly belted back her shot, desperately needing a drink just from that question alone.

"Oh, come on, sugar, it ain't like I asked if he came all over your back in the saddle and gave you a reach-around," Koto snickered. "Ha! See!? Now _that_ one was dirty!"

"Oh my stars, it has certainly been a day for foul language," Ami huffed through the lingering burn of the alcohol. "And no… there wasn't any relief. I don't think so, anyway. Just…" She colored at the thought of speaking of such things aloud, but she wanted to ask the madame a question. "I um… I took quite a few science classes while I was at college back east, and one lecture even focused on… um…" Ami dropped her voice to a soft whisper at that, looking around to make sure no one was listening in. "…the female side of relations. But I've um… never… known such a thing firsthand," she finished shyly.

"You have questions," Koto said gently. "Go ahead, sugar, ask away. I ain't got no shame."

"The kiss outshined what I felt in the saddle, but… it was warm," she sighed thoughtfully. "Very, very warm. And… I liked it." Taking her second shot to bolster her courage for her next statement, Ami swallowed hard and tried not to gag at the taste of the strong whiskey. "And… I wanted more," she confessed softly. "Is that normal?"

"Heavens, yes, Ami. It's very normal. And very natural. And his response to all of that rubbing was very natural as well and you shouldn't hold it against him. It's one thing to get aroused, but another to act on it, and you've made it clear that he was a perfect gentleman, right?"

"Yes, he was," Ami sighed, her eyes slipping shut as she thought of how he'd held her safely in the saddle. Even if it had meant nothing to him, she had been deeply affected by it, and even more so by the kiss they'd shared. "Is it selfish of me to want to see him again?"

"Not at all, sugar," Koto replied in understanding. "If I'd been saved from a pack of wild Comanche by someone tall, dark and handsome, swept off my feet, and then kissed stupid by him, I'd be finding the nearest horse and chasing his ass down. Wanna borrow my horse?" She added with a waggle of her eyebrows, beaming when she finally succeeded in making the teacher laugh, the sound echoing beautifully throughout the room, making the male patrons all turn to admire her.

"You know, Ami," Koto continued quietly after a minute, "Peach Grove ain't as big as Tombstone or Silver City, but it's not uncommon for some wanted men to come into town after dark. After all, Doc can't be everywhere at once. If Roy happens by with Clyde Vegeta's boys, would you like me to give him a message?"

"Oh… I don't know, ma'am… I wouldn't want him to try to see me only for him to get caught by the sheriff."

"But you do want to see him again?" She pressed, giving Ami's hand a little squeeze.

"I…" Swallowing a lie, Ami decided to be honest; Koto had been nothing but candid with her so far, and had done wonders to help settle her rattled nerves. "Yes, I would like that," she breathed hopefully, "but not at risk to him."

"Well, then… I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do."

**And there yall have it, the first chapter. I'm working on chap two right now, and three is done. There might be an epilogue, but this'll be a 3-part deal. Enjoy! And make sure you blame my betas. IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT. ESPECIALLY YOU, SAIYAJIN-NEKO**


	2. Chapter 2

**I just can't get this story out of my head and I think I'm even going to turn it into a book! No joke! So I GUESS I can thank Saiyajin Neko for SOMETHING… nah. I'll just keep blaming her even though I love her. Anyways, R&R, it might not be everyone's fave pairing (we KNOW it's mine) but this is going to all in all be a great story!**

Thankful that it was Friday and payday, Ami wearily stepped into the bank and into the growing line, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she patiently waited her turn, sighing gratefully when she was called by the teller to sign the payroll log.

She was pocketing her cash and thanking the banker when someone suddenly yelled, the sound making her spin in place and stare at the massive man entering with his gun raised. "Oh my stars…"

Her barely breathed statement attracted the gunman's attention in the otherwise silent bank, and Ami's eyes widened in fear until she realized not only how muscular he was… but how _tall_ he was.

And there was only one man in Arizona that was that ridiculously tall.

Flashing a grin behind his bandanna, Nappa tipped her a wink before levelling his six-shooter at the teller and staring him down. "The payroll. All of it, please and thank you. And all of you _get the hell on the ground_!" He shouted at everyone present. "This is a robbery, not a goddamned social club! Hands where I can see them! Except you, ma'am," he added towards Ami when she moved to kneel, his tone softening noticeably when he addressed her. "Wouldn't want you to muss that pretty dress. I'd ask that you keep your hands visible, though, if you'll pardon the inconvenience."

Well aware of all the eyes on her, including the few other women in the room that had received no special treatment, Ami blushed brightly, keeping her hands clasped in front of her at her waist, her eyes locked onto his imposing figure as he focused solely on the old man behind the counter that was loading gold coins and paper money into a satchel.

"Mr. Nappa."

"Yes, ma'am?" He asked, only briefly taking his eyes off the banker to glance over at her, then back to the man he was holding at gunpoint.

The schoolteacher wasn't sure what in God's name made her do it, but before she could stop herself, she was weaving around the kneeling bank patrons, her delicate hand landing gently on the wrist that wasn't holding the gun. "I know I'm in your debt for the events of last week, but I would kindly ask you to cease this unpleasantness."

"Ms. Anderson," he snorted, "there's two grand in that there payroll, and I'll be damned if I'm going to just leave it here because you asked nicely." Glancing down at her, he found her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared up at him hotly, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "Good God, you're serious."

"Yes, Mr. Nappa, I am _quite_ serious, and I demand that you end this immediately!" She declared loudly, stomping her foot for emphasis. "If you are in such dire straits for currency, then I will gladly hand over my month's pay in exchange. There are good people in this town that need that money, and I will be not see you steal the pay that they earned with their honest labor!" Disregarding his order to keep her hands in sight, Ami shoved one into her skirt pocket and produced her month's wages, scowling deeply as she offered it up. "It's not two grand, but it's a little over a hundred dollars and it's freely given. Take it and go."

"I don't want your money, ma'am," Roy snorted, turning his attention back to the nearly full satchel.

"You're not leaving with that money, Mr. Nappa." When he just chuckled behind his bandanna and kept his eyes on the prize, Ami got mad—madder than she'd ever been in her life—and before she could stop herself, she withdrew her hand from his wrist and slapped his arm hard enough to sting.

_That_ got his attention, and Roy's eyes were wide in surprise when he instantly focused on her instead of the money.

"You _will_ look at me when I'm speaking to you, sir," Ami said sharply, hands balled up on her hips. "You're not leaving here with that money," she repeated sternly. "And if you try to, you'll have to go through me."

Dear Lord, she was dead serious, wasn't she? Royston knew then that his options were pretty limited—he wouldn't hurt her, so he could either leave now or leave later. Both choices involved him leaving without any money, too, since he wasn't going to take the little schoolmarm's pay for an entire month. An idea occurred to him, though, and he smiled behind the bandanna even as he slowly lowered the hammer on his Colt, aiming it away from the teller and towards the ceiling. "Well, Ms. Anderson, you drive a mighty hard bargain… but I ain't got no interest in your money, so tell me— what's in it for me if I walk out of here empty-handed?"

"That would depend on what you want," she replied after giving his words a moment's thought, "even though my money is still up for offer in exchange."

"Oh, I don't want _much_," he drawled out as he lowered his bandanna to reveal a winning, devilish smile. "Just a kiss, that's all."

Her cheeks flushed and her pulse still racing from something besides anger, Ami's eyes widened at that and she licked her lips nervously as she decided that he wasn't joking. "I… um… that's all? Just a kiss? And you'll leave without the money or hurting anyone?"

"Swear it on my mother's grave. Though I'll hurt anyone that tries to do the same to me first," he amended with a little frown as he quickly raised his gun and pointed it at the teller again. "I see you eyeing that shotgun under the counter. Don't make me shoot you dead in front of the lady, sir." Directing him around the counter with his gun, Nappa didn't lower it until the banker was kneeling on the floor with the rest of the crowd, then immediately focused his attention on the tiny woman that was now wringing her hands nervously and blushing profusely, a far cry from the furious little hellcat she'd been a minute beforehand. "Well? It ain't like we haven't kissed before, Ms. Anderson," he pointed out cheekily, his own heartbeat quickening in remembrance of her warm embrace and her soft moan of surrender as he'd parted her lips with his tongue.

The outlaw made a valid argument, but Ami's shy nod wasn't because of that—it was because she hadn't been able to put him out of her head since she'd met him a week ago, replaying that passionate, thoroughly arousing kiss over and over again in her mind, feeling a faint ache between her thighs whenever she thought about it or their wild ride into town. "You may kiss me if you prefer that to my pay."

"Darlin', a kiss from you is worth a _lot_ more than a hundred bucks," Roy purred as he stooped to press his lips to hers, their breaths mingling for a moment when they both shivered and gasped in reaction. Their tongues touched briefly at that, and Nappa sighed into the kiss just as she choked out a soft whimper, pulling her close and lifting her slightly with his left arm.

To his credit, he didn't devour her like last time, keeping the kiss slow and gentle, lazily caressing her tongue with his over and over until she was trembling and her hands were gripping at his back. "Definitely worth more than your pay," he breathed against her kiss-swollen lips as he drew away, pressing his mouth to hers once more when she gazed up at him with hazy, desire-filled eyes, her pupils blown from arousal. "Well, I believe I've worn out my welcome," he chuckled as he set her down carefully, only to grin before he released her and lift her back up, slinging her over his shoulder, laughing at her shriek of surprised protest.

"What in the name of the saints are you _doing_!?" She shouted at him as she pounded at his back with her fists and squirmed and kicked as hard as she could, bouncing along as he hauled her outside, the bank patrons staring and gaping wide-eyed at their departure, a few of them getting up and yelling after them in a too-late attempt to save her.

"It was worth your pay, ma'am, but it wasn't quite worth two thousand dollars. I thought I'd get my money's worth," he laughed as he sat her in his horse's saddle and swung up behind her, intercepting an attempt at escape by wrapping an arm around her waist.

Roy had to admit that he was amazed by the amount of fight in her; she was throwing elbows and fists and even tried to bite his arm once, so instead of keeping it to a quick walk, he spurred the horse into a light gallop to throw her off balance and make her cling to the saddle horn. "And here I was, trying to be all nice and gentlemanly," he chuckled in her ear.

"You call _that _gentlemanly!?" Ami yelled back at him as she held on tight and leaned down against the horse's neck, her eyes shut tightly as fear began to take over. Where was he taking her, and just what did he have in mind to make up for the two thousand dollar payroll!? Surely he wouldn't take her somewhere secluded and take advantage of her… would he?

"Yes, I do," he replied earnestly as he tugged the reins to bring Sloane to a halt and swung down, smiling as he watched her eyes crack open and her terrified expression turn to one of surprise. "I don't know why you're making such a fuss, ma'am, I only escorted you home."

Ignoring the hand he offered her, Ami swung down as she felt tears welling up in her eyes, but as she hurried up the stairs of her porch she was snagged by the arm and spun back around to stare up into his intense black eyes. "Let me go," she choked out.

"Why are you crying?" He rumbled as he tugged off his bandanna and wiped at her tears. "Did I hurt you?"

Latching onto her anger to avoid having a breakdown right in the middle of Main Street, Ami jerked her arm out of his grasp and shoved at him. "You scared the life out of me!"

Stunned into momentary silence, Roy only caught her again as she was opening her door, and he shut it forcefully before spinning her in place again and using his larger frame to cage her in, preventing her escape so that he could have his say. "Ami," he stated firmly, "let's get something clear right here and now. I ain't never hurt a woman and I never will. And I'd never hurt _you_," he added softly. "I was only joking around with you, I thought you _knew _that. Now don't cry," he whispered as he wiped at fresh tears, cupping her face in his free hand. "I wouldn't have done that if I'd thought you'd really be scared. Forgive me?"

Convinced by his sincerity and his gentle touch, Ami nodded timidly. "I will if you forgive me for assuming the worst. I apologize, that was awfully horrible of me. But if you sling me over your shoulder ever again, Royston Nappa, I swear to punch you in the nose!" She finished with a huff.

"Yes, ma'am," he laughed softly, dipping in to kiss her briefly. "Mmm… anyone ever tell you that you're mouthwatering when you're spittin' fire and trying to claw a man's eyes out?"

"If you ever pull that stunt again, Mr. Nappa, you'll find me downright irresistible," Ami retorted with a scowl.

"Oh, _please_ don't tempt me, darlin'," he teased as he leaned in and rested his forehead to hers, pulling her flush against him and sighing at how perfectly they fit against each other.

Ami couldn't help herself and giggled at his playful tone, and when he kissed her again she immediately parted her lips to him, sighing into the kiss, content in that moment to just stay in his arms for the rest of her life. Her thoughts were much the same as his when he lifted her tightly against him to help negate their height difference—he felt good, he felt right, and when he kissed her it was like the rest of the world just melted away into nothing and left only him and her and the warmth she felt when she was with him.

"Mmm… need to… stop…" He groaned suddenly between several slow, deep kisses, his arousal pressing tightly to her belly.

Running her fingers up the back of his neck to hold him to her, Ami could only whimper in response, clutching at his shirt with her other hand when he ground up into her by way of explanation, her body reacting immediately by moving against him in kind.

Nappa somehow managed to grasp every ounce of willpower he possessed at that and broke the kiss, panting heavily for air as he unwound his fingers from where they had bunched in her dark ringlets. "You found a whole 'nother way to tempt me, Ami," he rasped, wanting desperately to kiss her again and haul her inside to her bed, but somehow forcing himself to set her on her feet again. "No," he added mournfully when she tried to draw him back down to her for more, "Ami… Ami, no, I consider myself to be a pretty strong man, but if I kiss you again right now, I'm going to take you inside and ruin you."

A whistle sounded from across the street then, getting both their attentions, and Ami snapped back to reality at the sight of at least a dozen people standing out on the main drag through town, watching them with expressions that varied from horrified to extremely amused.

"Hey, I rent rooms by the hour!" Ms. Koto called, having been the one that whistled. "I just thought yall might wanna hide in one since the sheriff's coming!"

"Oh shit!" Nappa breathed, only to flinch. "Pardon my language. And my language in the bank, too, Ami. People don't exactly listen to a robber when he asks politely."

Recalling his swearing, Ami just nodded, eyeing all the people staring at them, her cheeks hot in mortification. "I… um… you'd better go," she whispered worriedly as she heard the faint sound of hooves coming from the east. "Hm… and it sure took them long enough," she added with a tiny smile. "The sheriff's getting slow."

"No he ain't," Roy snickered, "we got word the payrolls had been switched, but they didn't know we knew, so Clyde and his boys hit the train as a distraction this morning. Doc and them was five miles out when I hit that bank."

Genuinely impressed by such a well-executed plan, Ami couldn't bring herself to chastise him for trying to rob the bank in the first place and just sighed and gave him a little push. "Go on, Mr. Nappa, before Mr. Bardock shows up."

"Yes ma'am," he replied with mock gravity, tipping his hat to her as he released her and jogged down the steps to his horse. "I hope we'll cross paths again soon, Ms. Anderson," he added after swinging up into the saddle.

The soft look he was giving her warmed her from the inside out and she smiled shyly and nodded. "I hope so too," she admitted. "Now go."

* * *

><p>Stroking himself slowly as he used one arm to brace himself against a tree, Roy fought for air as he remembered the soft, feminine sounds she'd made as he'd kissed her and the way her nails had briefly dug into his spine when he'd ground his cock against her, and it didn't take a huge leap of imagination to picture her naked and beneath him as well, taking every hard inch of him. She cried out in surrender in his fantasy, his name tumbling beautifully from her lips as she came, and back in the real world Roy tightened his fist around his rigid organ as he thrust into it slowly, just as he would have if his hand had been her tight sheath, breathing her name in ecstasy. "<em>Ami<em>… come for me again, darlin'…"

Before he could imagine her doing so, Roy lost it and groaned, shuddering violently from his release, and when he could think straight without wanting to turn back towards town and her and a guaranteed hanging, he sighed in relief. "Goddamn, what _is_ it about her… I sure as hell was never willing to risk the noose for a woman before."

"Either you're insane or you're in love," Clyde's voice snorted from a little ways behind him, leaning against a tree and staring off towards the east. "Don't worry, I didn't watch or anything, I showed up right as you were yowling like a cat in heat."

It wasn't as if he and Clyde hadn't come upon each other during embarrassing moments, so Nappa just tucked himself away as he rolled his eyes and buttoned himself up.

"So, how much did we take?"

Still facing the tree, Roy sighed and shook his head mournfully. "You're gonna be pissed, Clyde, but do me a favor and hear me out before you shoot me, ok?"

"You didn't get the money because of a woman," his partner guessed correctly, suppressing the urge to rant and rave in lieu of hearing Roy out, knowing from experience that he was about to offer a solution and not an excuse.

"There was about fifteen hundred left in the payroll when I got there; I didn't count it or anything, but we both know what two grand looks like, and that wasn't two grand. I've got fifteen hundred dollars, Clyde, and we can just tell the guys that that was the take. This little incident stays between you and me."

A take being a little short during a bank robbery was common enough, so Vegeta sighed and nodded as Roy turned to face him, the shorter man's expression stern. "Agreed. But it had better not happen again, Roy."

"Don't send me into Peach Grove for any more jobs and it won't," Nappa promised. "She was in the bank… and she gave me the choice of hurting her to get to the money or walking away. Clyde… I couldn't hurt her. I…" Unable to look his partner in the eye, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, he shook his head in wonder. "…I think I'm falling in love with her, Clyde. I don't know what to do—I can't stop thinking about her, and then today… dear God, I nearly dragged her into her house even though the sheriff was less than a mile away."

"Maybe it's time you got out of the business of train robbing, Roy," Vegeta stated genuinely. "I know you've got more than fifteen hundred saved up. Hell, you got enough to buy a nice farm, a house, livestock, and still have a lot left over. And you ain't wanted in California."

Nodding thoughtfully, Roy knew that his friend was right. His heart wasn't in it anymore; it was a few miles to the east, resting in Ami Anderson's hand. And if anything, his Ma would be exceedingly happy if he quit stealing from people. "I don't suppose you'd feel like playing the role of Eros and shooting a few arrows her way, would you?"

"Shall I just alert the Comanche, then?" Clyde asked, chuckling darkly when Roy groaned, his humor turning into a scowl when the bigger man went to his horse, mounted, and turned it towards the desert… and Comanche territory. "Roy, it was a _joke_."

"I never went back for her basket because of all the scouting parties," he informed his partner, who quickly mounted his own horse, Hope, and followed close behind.

"What's in it? The Golden Fleece? Aladdin's lamp?" Clyde asked curiously, wondering what could be so important that Roy would risk getting shot.

Blushing again and removing his hat to rub at his bald head, Roy mumbled "flowers" before replacing his cover and wincing at Clyde's voice.

"You're going to get turned into a pin cushion over a basket of flowers!?" He yelled incredulously. "Dear God, when we get back I'm having you fucking committed, Roy!"

* * *

><p>"Damn it, they're all dried out," Nappa mumbled as he studied the impressive pile of flowers and looked around their immediate surroundings for more.<p>

"What did you expect? They've been sitting in the sun for a week, Roy," Clyde pointed out. "Come on, she was probably going to dry them anyway. I'll deliver it since Doc's actively looking for you. You go back to camp."

"No, I feel like I should at least send her some fresh ones after the way I scared her a little during the robbery. It made me feel like dirt, seeing that look on her face. I wanna make up for it."

Knowing that there was no use in arguing, especially since their arguments had a tendency to get loud and they couldn't raise their voices for worry of alerting Comanche scouts, Clyde grumbled and groaned as he picked a few sprigs of lavender from nearby and dumped them in the basket. "There. They're fresh."

Settling a cactus flower in as well, Roy sighed and nodded, only to spot a few little yellow flowers towards town, and he grinned as he decided to just pick every new flower they came across during the ride, whether or not Clyde wanted to bitch about it.

* * *

><p>"I don't care what you say, Gladys, I'm not pulling my children from the school because you have a warped view of what happened in the bank; Ms. Anderson not only saved our husbands' pay, she let that ruffian kiss her in front of everyone to do so! She's a hero, not a harlot as you would make her!"<p>

"You didn't see her in front of her house with him, Rachel, she had her hands all over him and they were embracing in a way _most_ improper! The teacher's a little hussy and should be working across the street for that red-headed queen of the hussies!"

"She stood in front of a gosh darned _gun_ and slapped the man!" A third woman chimed in as Ami covered her mouth and blushed in shame, hiding back behind a row of dried goods, garnering a sympathetic look from the owner's daughter, who was the only one within eyesight. "And might I add, Gladys, that she stood against him while _your husband_ cowered in the corner like a scared child," the third woman pointed out snidely. "A full-grown man and a deputy, too. And he let a slip of a woman do his work for him."

Ami couldn't help a tiny smile at that, and when she heard a fourth woman chime in in her defense, she found the courage to stand up from her hiding place and make her way towards the front of the store. Everyone fell silent immediately and stared, all of the women coloring brightly in embarrassment, knowing by the tears in the schoolmarm's eyes that their little hen party had been overheard. "Just these," she said to the clerk, placing her basket on the counter and looking only at the clerk. "Bernice, Nell, Rosie, I trust I'll see you in church on Sunday?"

"Yes, ma'am," one of them replied, giving her arm a squeeze, her brown eyes gentle when Ami met them. "And if you haven't yet cooked anything for supper, Ami, I know that Thomas and I would love nothing more than your company for supper this evening."

"I'm much obliged, Nell, but after the events of today I sorely need some rest," the teacher replied, unable to stifle a tiny chuckle.

"Likely she'll be getting up to more of her sinful activities," Gladys muttered.

_God, I'd rather pray for that bitter old woman, so please give me the strength not to hit her, _Ami thought as she clenched her first at her side and silently willed the owner to move a little faster in adding her purchases to her account. "Perhaps tomorrow?" Ami said aloud to Nell. "Or Sunday after church?"

"If you're not still in confession," Gladys snorted under her breath, earning her several glares from the other women.

Losing what little temper she had remaining after such a harrowing day, Ami could keep quiet no more and turned her icy blue eyes on the older woman, her teeth clenched in righteous fury. "While we're on the subject of the confessional booth, Gladys, do you have any plans to confess your infidelity with a deputy that is not your husband?"

"Of all the—are you out of your mind, young lady!?"

"Oh, _I'm sorry_!" She snapped out sarcastically. "I wasn't aware that witnessing a private moment between two people wasn't _any of my blasted business_ even though I saw it with my own two eyes!" Fighting for calm and praying for serenity, Ami trembled as she regained some control over her volume. "Shall I name him and declare you a harlot to as many people as I can, just as you're doing to me? Or should I keep in mind that gossiping is a sin, Gladys?"

"I'm withdrawing my son from your school," the older woman hissed.

"Good," Ami answered with false calm. "Your son is a bully to the other children and doesn't know when to shut his mouth. Much like his mother. And his spelling's atrocious," she added as the owner informed her that he was finished, a twinkle in his eyes and a broad smile on his face. "I suggest you hire him a tutor unless you want him to wind up as ignorant as you."

Ami headed out then but stopped at the door, remembering herself and grasping at what little civility she had left in that moment. "Good day, ladies," she said gently as she turned and curtsied politely. "Nell, Rosie, Bernice, I'll see you on Sunday."

"I'll bring you a plate for supper tonight, Ms. Ami," Rosie interjected.

"And I'll see you at my house for Sunday dinner," Nell said warmly.

"And mine tomorrow," Bernice chuckled. "Consider your dance card full, ma'am."

* * *

><p>Even after putting all of her purchases away and breathing a sigh of relief that she needn't bother cooking after such a stressful morning, Ami wished that it was a school day. It was a Friday, yes, but in an area where farming took precedence over book learning, she'd quickly discovered that no one was showing up when there were crops that needed planting. In fact, she'd been told not to expect a lot of students until the last harvest came in in October, and that those that did show up would do so sporadically.<p>

It meant that she could give her very small class a head start for when the schoolhouse would be full in the winter, at least, even if she felt like she was being paid monthly for hardly any real work.

At the thought of work, Ami decided that getting some done would help her avoid thinking about the lingering ache inside of her from her encounter with Roy that morning and she got her meager wash bundled up after changing into a dress she didn't mind soiling.

Her trek to the water pump was halted by the sight of three men on her porch, dressed in their Sunday best and holding bouquets of flowers, all of them beaming down at her with wide, hopeful eyes even though they had been glaring challengingly at each other only moments beforehand. "I…um… may I help you, gentlemen?"

Doc's oldest son stepped forward quickly, looking a bit ridiculous in a brown wool suit and bowtie, and quickly scooped up her hand and kissed the back of it, setting her to blushing brightly. "We apparently all had the same notion, ma'am, after hearing about your heroics in the bank this morning and how you assaulted that outlaw. We've all come to call on you. But I was here first," he chuckled.

Blue eyes wide, Ami blinked in shock, and while her first thought was for the fact that she'd already turned down two callers during her first week and had made it abundantly clear that she wasn't interested in courtship while she was just settling in, she couldn't help but look down at her dress and feel mortified at the state of it. "I… um… I was just going to do my wash. I'm hardly decent to accept company at the moment, Raditz." Directing her gaze to encompass all of them and a fourth man that was walking up—also in his best clothing and clutching flowers—she somehow managed to speak through her embarrassment. _Dear God, of all the horrible blasted timing!_ "Please, gentlemen, forgive me if I seem curt, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and I have the wash to tend to," she said softly, dismissing them all with a gentle smile and going around them with her washtub and laundry bag in hand.

Whimpering under her breath at the sight of a fifth man approaching with a bouquet of wildflowers—dear Jesus, the countryside must have been picked clean of flora!—Ami spun back around and darted inside the house, barring her door behind her, and shook her head vigorously to clear it. "This is by far the strangest day I have ever lived," she whined to herself.

A knock came then and Ami sighed, on the edge of just saddling her horse and taking off into the desert for some quiet time, reminded by the thought that it was Raditz that had been kind enough to find and return her. "Oh gosh dangit," she sputtered, "that was awfully rude of me after he brought Daisy back."

"It's me," a low, sultry voice called that was decidedly not masculine, making the teacher sigh in relief. "Yes, Ms. Koto," she said gently as she opened her door. "My apologies, it's been a wearisome day."

"I know, sugar. I heard you were _feeling poorly_?" She asked, stressing the last two words, lifting her eyebrows and just barely jerking her head towards the suitors, who were all waiting in hopes that Ami would decide to come back outside and let them call upon her.

Blinking at Ms. Koto's choice of words, Ami blushed, and while she normally would have been mortified by someone asking after her monthly flows in front of a bunch of men, she knew an opportunity when she saw it and nodded after a moment's hesitation, fighting hard not to smile in pure relief when every man on her porch blushed and murmured apologies for bothering her while she was 'a bit under the weather.'

"I had a feeling that you hadn't yet taken dinner due to your discomfort, so I brought you a light meal and a little opium to help it," Koto continued, giving Ami a little grin and a saucy wink.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Ms. Koto," Ami stated with genuine gratitude, opening her door to let her in and then directing a curtsy at the men. "Gentlemen."

"Ma'am," they all replied, tipping their hats to her as they all laid their offerings at the door, knowing that they stood little chance of courting her during her monthlies. "Perhaps I can call upon you next Saturday?" Raditz asked before turning to leave with the rest of them.

"I… um… I…"

"She's _spoken for_, if yall ain't gotten it through your thick skulls," Koto snorted, saving the day as she gently tugged Ami inside and closed the door. "Dear sweet dancing Jesus!" She exclaimed, laughing as she set the basket on the table and took the seat Ami politely offered. "Honey, I thought your eyes were going to pop out of your head when I saw you open that door and come out with your wash!" She cackled. "And when they still didn't leave after you ran for the hills, I knew you needed someone to intervene! Sorry about telling them you was bleeding, but it's the only sure-fire way to dismiss a gaggle of suitors!" She finished, still laughing hysterically as she slapped the table and tried to breathe.

"No, I appreciate it!" Ami giggled, unable to keep herself from joining in on Koto's infectious laughter. "Anything to get rid of them all, thank you!" She stopped at that and stared, recalling the madame's other statement. "But… did you have to tell them I was spoken for?" She asked quietly. "I mean… it got the desired result, but…"

"Well, ain't you spoken for?" Koto asked with a waggle of her eyebrows. "I saw the way you was kissing Roy, and it sure _seemed_ like you'd made your choice." Sighing at Ami's sudden shyness, Koto flipped the tablecloth off of her large dinner basket, revealing a smaller one inside that was full of flowers and had a note resting on top of it. "Clyde Vegeta brought that by about an hour ago, and the letter's got your name on it, sugar."

"Oh my… is… is this from Mr. Nappa?" Ami asked curiously, her heart pounding as she recognized her own basket from their first meeting and she extracted a fresh cactus flower.

Smiling softly at the starry-eyed look on the younger woman's face, Koto knew that Ami was falling in love, even if the teacher hadn't realized it yet, and she felt a pang of regret over her and the sheriff's own tumultuous relationship. What she wouldn't give to feel like that about Doc again… but her girls came first, and Koto refused to sell the brothel. Even for him. "Clyde said that Roy wanted to drop it off himself, but Doc's hunting for him high and low. I told Clyde about what some of the women are saying… Roy won't be happy about it."

"Actually… I handled that," Ami admitted as she ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "I'm fairly sure I've made a lifelong enemy out of Gladys Thatcher. I sort of… got angry. And I told her that I knew about her and Deputy Yamcha."

"Heh… I would've loved to have seen her face when you called her out on it!" Koto squealed. "Tell me, did that little vein on her forehead pop out!?"

"And her face was as red as the fires of Hades," Ami recounted with a small sly grin, unable to ignore a feeling of triumph at how she'd shut that horrible woman up, even as her hand crept to slide the envelope from the basket and briefly caress the paper.

"Heh… go on, read it, sugar," Koto encouraged her as she slid a plate of pork chops out of the basket and got out of her seat to help herself to Ami's kitchen, moving about and finding forks and knives while she gave the younger woman a semblance of privacy to read her letter.

Ami licked her lips in anticipation as she broke the wax seal and slid the flap open, her cheeks warm when she looked around to make sure Ms. Koto wasn't watching her as she unfolded the single sheet of paper.

Finding the coast clear, she took a deep breath and began to read, her heart thundering as she wondered just what he would say to her.

**Hahahaha I'm horrible, I know it! Review and you'll get to see Nappa's love letter! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! I managed to get some writing done this week! Enjoy, yall! For the record, I still blame you, Saiyajin-Neko. But I love you anyway.**

_ Ms. Anderson,_

_My apologies for not returning to fetch your forgotten basket sooner. I wasn't sure if you wanted the sun-dried flowers or not, so me and Clyde picked what we could just in case you wanted them fresh._

_I would ask after your well-being after this morning's events, as well as assure you that I meant no harm to you and I never will. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me; it pains and worries me that I might have caused you to hate me through my impulsive actions._

_ If in fact you do not harbor me any ill will, I would like to see you again under less distressing circumstances. I spoke with Ms. Koto several days past and she said that you wouldn't be offended if I called on you, but I'd like to ask you for the honor without making assumptions. Might I call on you in the future, Ms. Anderson? If your answer is yes, Ms. Koto has kindly agreed to pass you any letters I write, and letters from you to me as well, if you would be so inclined to write me. _

_ I don't venture into town Saturday and Sunday, but may I come calling Monday or Tuesday evening if the sheriff is otherwise occupied? I know what and who I am, but I am hopeful that my reputation won't deter you if you felt what I felt during both of our hurried meetings. _

_ I eagerly await your response, Ms. Anderson, and pray to hear from you soon. _

_ Most hopefully yours,_

_ Royston William Nappa_

With her cheeks flushed at his well-worded letter, Ami couldn't stop herself from jumping up and going to her desk for her writing supplies, digging for her scented paper and an ink well, her face stretched by a bright, giddy smile.

She had been thoroughly impressed by his writing, and while she initially thought that he might have had help, there were several spelling errors despite his good grammar and inkblots littering the page following every sentence, indicating that the pen had rested there as he had gathered his thoughts.

One could tell a lot from a letter, and Ami was blushing hotly in embarrassment at herself for having assumed that he was just some outlaw with little education—his wording, his tact, and even his handwriting indicated that the man had more book learning than most, probably from his mother, if she was going to warrant a guess.

Ami couldn't find her scented paper from New York since it was probably shoved in a trunk somewhere—after all, how often did _she_ wind up writing a personal letter to a man!?—so she settled for some of her monogrammed stationary, her pen resting above the paper as she wondered just what in God's name she would even say to him.

"Oh, don't mind me," Ms. Koto chuckled when Ami suddenly looked up, blushing hotly in embarrassment at having forgotten about her guest. "The way that smile brightened the room, I'm assuming you were awfully happy with what he had to say."

Ami didn't miss the inquiry in her tone and nodded; after all, Koto had brought her the letter in the first place, so she may as well know what he'd said. "Mr. Nappa asked for permission to court me." That was when she realized how insane it all was and blinked down at her blank sheet of paper. "I… I must be _losing my mind_ to say yes to him," she breathed in amazement.

"Yet it was your first reaction?"

"It was, but… what would be the point?" Ami sighed, automatically going through all of the possibilities as her overly analytical mind processed the most likely outcomes. "He'll only wind up caught and hanged by the sheriff if he starts coming around all the time to court me. There's no chance at a future with him."

"Oh, I don't know… you'd say there's no chance at a future for me and Doc, wouldn't you?" Grinning at Ami's nod and shrug, Koto leaned over the table and winked at her. "John's only asked me to marry him five times, sugar. Only reason I won't is because I have a responsibility to my girls, and according to John, no self-respecting married woman owns a brothel. I told him to go screw himself with a hot poker," she added in a conspiratorial whisper as she sat back down.

Clearly embarrassed, Ami swallowed hard before staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. "So… you're saying that I should tell him yes?"

"I'm only saying that anything is _possible_," Koto corrected her lightly. "And isn't that what you teach the children during science lessons?"

The madame had a point, and Ami licked her lips and nodded as she dipped her pen in the inkwell and stared at it thoughtfully, gauging how to word her response to him.

Several minutes passed and she still hadn't written anything, so Koto decided she'd excuse herself to give the teacher some privacy, patting her on the arm and promising to be across the street whenever she was ready to hand over her letter to Roy.

Ami only nodded and uttered a quiet thank you, and it was another fifteen minutes before she finally put the pen to the paper.

_Mr. Nappa,_

_ I thank you most sincerely for returning my basket to me. Thank you so very much for your concern, and yet again for saving my life during our initial meeting; I am forever in your debt for your heroics last week and I pray you know how endlessly grateful I am for your gentlemanly kindness. _

_ As for this morning, I harbor you no ill will so long as you can promise me that nothing of that nature will ever occur again in my presence, for I will never allow such a thing as robbery to pass unchallenged. So long as I have your word on this, you will find me most amiable. _

_ In regards to your request, I am overwhelmingly flattered by it. On a side note, you would be most amused to know that you're the sixth man today that has asked for the honor to call upon me; apparently my actions in the bank have attracted the amorous advances of half the bachelors in town. Thank the Lord for Ms. Koto, had she not intervened on my behalf, I fear I would have been hiding behind my door for days out of fear of being drowned in wildflowers and unwelcome courtship offers. _

_ My apologies for digressing, I just thought you would find the situation humorous; I will not speak of how Ms. Koto successfully shooed them away from my door, but if you ask her about it, I guarantee you'd be most entertained. _

_If you choose to come calling, I would be most happy to see you again, so long as you refrain from bringing the Comanche along as chaperones. I will leave my reply with Ms. Koto at her place of business and I hope it finds you well; know that you are in my prayers and have been since we met. I'll admit that not an hour goes by in which I do not think of you, Mr. Nappa, and I look forward to seeing you again soon. You will find me waiting between the hours of sunset and ten o'clock in the evening; please do not come before then, as I am most concerned for your safety._

_ With Heartfelt Anticipation,_

_ Ami Katherine Anderson_

After three hours and multiple drafts, that was what Ami finally settled on, and she heaved a deep sigh of relief that the ordeal was over, rubbing the aching muscles in her ink-stained hand.

She still lamented the fact that she couldn't find the special scented paper that her father had bought for her in hopes that she would use it for love letters, but Ami remembered the perfume she wore on important occasions and went to her vanity, retrieving it and practically dancing in place impatiently as she waited for the ink to dry.

A single spritz of the light, floral scent went in the air once the letter was dry, and Ami carefully drug the paper through the mist of perfume a couple times, satisfied when she sniffed the stationary. She nearly sealed the envelope when she caught sight of the flowers in the basket and stopped, hoping that her gesture wouldn't seem forward or overly eager… but then again, what did she care? She was twenty-seven and far past a woman's prime marriageable age, so she decided to go for broke.

"Phhht… I can use all the help I can get," Ami giggled as she selected a dried stalk of lavender from the basket and folded it in her letter before sliding it in an envelope and sealing it shut with a little wax.

She grabbed her shawl then, peeking outside to make sure there wasn't anyone in the street, and she made good time getting across it, ducking into the brothel quietly, trying to stay small once she was inside the packed establishment. "Pardon me," she addressed the bartender, "but is Ms. Koto available? I only mean to speak with her but for a moment."

"Just give it here," a man sitting on a stool nearby grunted before sipping at his whiskey, holding his gloved hand out.

"I beg your pardon?" Ami asked, eyes wide as she held the letter behind her back.

"I said give it here. By God's ears, Nappa said you were beautiful, but he never mentioned that you were deaf," the man snorted as he stood and approached her, looking her up and down, taking in her blue eyes, long hair and lovely, heart-shaped face. "Hn… he definitely had the right of it. I'll never question his taste in women again, that's for sure."

"You say that you know Mr. Nappa?" She inquired hesitantly as she studied him as well, noting that she'd never met a man quite as short as the one standing in front of her. Sure, he was taller than her, but if he was taller than 5'5, she'd be genuinely surprised.

"Oh, my mistake, you're _not_ deaf," he sputtered, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his boot impatiently against the plank floor. "I'm his partner, Clyde Vegeta. His brother-in-law, too, but he sometimes chooses not to claim me."

Disregarding his rudeness in light of meeting one of Nappa's family members, Ami chose to remain polite and immediately curtsied. "Ami Anderson. I'm the new schoolteacher in town."

"Believe me, I _know_," he groaned, rolling his eyes yet again. "The big galloot hasn't _shut up_ about you for _a week_." Seeing her blush and the way her eyes sparkled in reaction, Vegeta sighed and held his hand out once more. "Don't get all flattered, ma'am, Nappa rarely shuts up about _anything_. Give me the letter; I was on my way out anyway. I'll make sure he gets it."

She quickly handed it over without further protest and Vegeta shoved it in his pocket with an annoyed sigh, returning to the bar to quickly finish his drink and pay his tab, but when he found Ami still waiting near the door he arched an eyebrow and nodded towards the schoolhouse. "You want an escort?"

"Oh, no thank you, I can manage quite well on my own. I only wanted to express my gratitude to you for carrying the letter for me," she replied softly. "And for the flowers. Roy said in his letter that you helped pick them. Thank you for that."

"You can express your gratitude by claiming ignorance if you're asked about me being in town," he stated bluntly before tipping his hat to her and leaving the brothel quickly.

#################################

"Here," Clyde grunted, tossing the envelope into Nappa's lap as he dozed in his bedroll.

"Huh?" Eyes still closed, Roy felt around for whatever had landed on him, and when his hand closed over it, he cracked them open and looked at it in confusion. "What's this, a subpoena?" He snorted, only for his eyes to widen when he caught a whiff of sweet perfume. "OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

The sight of Roy freaking out and scrambling out of his bedroll to get closer to the light of the campfire made feeling like a messenger boy completely worth it, and Vegeta roared with laughter from his perch on a fallen log at the sight of the giant man sniffing the envelope and sighing happily before delicately opening it and drawing out the letter. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, it really _is_ from her," he breathed in stunned awe at the sight of her monogram, sitting down hard on the packed dirt.

"What, Roy? You think I rode all the way to Yuma, borrowed perfume from Bulma and wrote a fake letter just to fuck with your head?" Vegeta chuckled.

"The thought _had _occurred to me," Roy replied with a grin as he unfolded the single sheet of paper the rest of the way, his heart leaping as a flower fell out of it and into his hand. The fact that she'd sent him a flower gave him hope that her letter contained a positive response, and he read it eagerly, his teeth flashing at the line about the Comanche chaperones, his booming laugh echoing throughout the woods. "I could kiss you for this, Clyde!" He exclaimed when he'd read the letter a second and a third time, his pulse racing at the thought of seeing Ami again in a matter of days.

"The day I married your sister was enough for a lifetime. Just buy me a good bottle of whiskey while you're in town on Monday," he answered with a dismissive wave as he climbed into his own bedroll and covered his face with his hat. "And you were right, the woman's gorgeous. Just don't lose your head and risk getting caught in town because you were too busy thinking with your nethers."

###################################

"You look like a buffoon."

"But it's my Sunday best!" Roy protested, holding his arms out wide to show off his suit, insulted that Clyde would think such a thing.

"You look like an idiot, Nappa. Change into something simple. I'm no fashion expert from back east, but I'd go with a black shirt and those black wool pants that Ma made you. They're clean, right?" Clyde asked. "And take a bath."

"I took one already!" He protested as he unfastened his bolo tie and started unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"I can smell you from here, Roy; take another bath and _scrub _this time. Until you're pink. No, go do it _now_!" The much shorter man insisted, pointing towards the stream. "And spare more than a single pass for your ass, Nappa, you smell like a pig."

It was only after the giant of a man was out of his suit and headed for the water that Clyde sniffed and chuckled to himself, noticing that the smell was coming from the suit and not the man wearing it. "God's thumbs, that's going to the cleaner's," Vegeta huffed, only to catch another whiff of it as he carried it to Roy's pack and gagged at the smell. "Jesus bleeding Christ, Roy!? When was the last time you had this thing laundered!?"

"Couple months ago, why!?" Roy called back. "Wait… no. Damn, it's been about a year! Hey, does that mean that I'm clean!?"

"No, the smell from the suit rubbed off on you, scrub harder!"

"Yes, Mother! I swear, you're even worse than my sister, Clyde! Bulma stopped fussing about stinky men when she was fifteen!"

That was probably because Clyde was one of those stinky men and Bulma had set her sights on marrying him when she was fifteen, but it was beside the point! Roy sweated an awful lot thanks to all of the hair that grew everywhere except his head, and while Vegeta tried not to complain about it too often, he wasn't about to pass up a golden opportunity to make the man bathe thoroughly.

His footsteps were heard crashing through the underbrush a short while later, and Clyde stepped a little closer to sniff the air and nod. "You better be sure that your other clothes are clean," he advised.

"They _are_, I wore them to mass on Sunday and had them laundered in Silver Springs afterwards. Here, sniff 'em yourself, Clyde," Roy snorted, stalking naked to his pack to extract a package wrapped in brown paper and tied with string.

His brother-in-law caught it smoothly and untied it, nodding with pleasant surprise at the smell of scented soap. "Damn, you took it to Suna. She's expensive." Snickering to himself as he handed back to package, Clyde pointed to the discarded suit. "Take _that_ to her, too."

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up," Roy replied absently as he shrugged into the clean pants and the freshly pressed shirt, neatly tucking it in before fastening the buttons on his trousers. "Well?"

"Not bad," Clyde allowed as he looked him up and down. "Put the bolo tie back on, you need some color amongst all that black." He waited for Roy to finish dressing, and once his chaps, boots, hat and gunbelt were on, he nodded in approval. "Very sharp. Now go get her, it'll be past sundown by the time you get there."

The smaller man gasped for air and felt his ribs threaten to give when his wife's brother suddenly wrapped him in a bear hug, and Clyde wheezed once he was released and set on his feet. "Thanks, brother!" Roy laughed as he made for his horse quickly, intent on getting out of shooting range before Clyde came to his senses. "I'll try and be back by dawn!"

#########################################

Fidgeting nervously with the hem of her dress, Ami wondered for the millionth time if her choice of clothing was appropriate for courting, but she knew that with the sun setting, she didn't have time for a wardrobe change. Back east, the dresses she'd worn in her late teens had been far more modest and much more expensive, and while she still had many of those dresses, they simply weren't practical for doing much of anything in Arizona. They were fine for sitting and dancing and taking a walk, but she was fairly sure that if Roy came calling they would have to leave town… and the terrain outside of town had a tendency to be rugged, often requiring practical clothing.

She had to admit that it was liberating to be wearing only a simple day dress without any frills or ruffles, with only a camisole beneath it rather than a corset and a bustle, even if she felt half-naked without all of it. Ami was getting used it, though, since many of her days had required her to go out to do her wash or her shopping without all of the finery weighing her down and making her sweat even in the mild March weather.

Watching the sun set out her only window on the western-facing side of the house, Ami leaned against the table she used for eating, sewing and grading classwork, her smile wistful as she let herself hope for more than a few nice encounters with the tall, handsome outlaw.

Rosie had inquired about him at supper that evening, and Ami had shyly informed her that he had been quite the gentleman, her face red-hot when she waggled her brows and asked about the kiss he'd given her. She'd stammered out something about it being quite unexpected and intense, and Rosie and her husband had chuckled at that, assuring her that they hadn't meant to embarrass her.

They were good folk and she knew they meant well, so Ami had only blushed, wide-eyed when Rosie handed her a folded piece of paper that had turned out to be Roy's wanted poster. She'd hastily stuffed it in her skirt pocket, returning the woman's grin with a sheepish little smile, knowing they would both keep her confidence and wouldn't alert the sheriff or his boys about the fact that she genuinely fancied the outlaw.

The wanted poster was under her pillow now, and Ami had to admit that the artist had done an excellent job with the picture; it definitely looked like Roy, from his thick moustache right down to the intensity of his eyes, and it was only when she'd caught herself mooning over a man she'd only met twice that she had put the poster away, chastising herself for over-romanticizing their encounters. Sure, he'd saved her life the first time, and yes, his kisses had lit a fire in her blood that she was _still_ having a hard time putting out, but the fact remained that he was a notorious train robber and there was a bounty on his head for a thousand dollars. There was no hope for a future with a man like that, and a woman of her good breeding and education would do well to completely put him out of her mind.

She'd been trying to do just that on Sunday at mass and had failed at it miserably, which had earned her an extra lap around the rosary when she'd confessed her wandering attention during the sermon and the reason for it. "My stars, I think I did more Our Fathers and Hail Marys in one day than I've done in all my life!" She giggled as she sat and waited for the sun to completely set. "Gladys was actually right! A—and I bet Father Flanigan thinks I'm some kind of Jezebel!"

Her laughter was cut short by a knock at the back door and Ami jumped a mile before smoothing out her skirt and trying not to hurry to the door, only to fail miserably when she thought of the consequences of keeping Nappa waiting and risking him being seen. "Sorry to keep—" Ami cut herself off as her jaw dropped at the sight of him so nicely dressed, striking quite the impressive figure on her back porch. "Um, uh… to keep you waiting," she finished quickly, clearing her throat, unable to tear her eyes away from him.

Roy was a little awestruck as well and could only lift her hand to his lips, also unable to look away; her hair was perfect, the black locks curled tightly, her blue calico dress just as lovely as it was practical, her unbound curves revealing that she wasn't wearing a corset. "You guessed we were going riding?" He rumbled when he noticed the lack of any restrictive garments.

"Well, it's not like we can exactly take a walk through town, Mr. Nappa. I'll get my shawl." Ami did just that and was back in a moment, the heels of her boots clicking along the porch until he grasped her arm lightly in a signal to stop and backed her into the shadows. "Mr. Nappa?"

"Please… wait just a moment. I… I want to apologize for last time, ma'am. I'm sorry if I was too forward or if I offended you. That kiss in the bank, and then scaring you… I was overcome with a need to make it right, but I got carried away," he said contritely, his voice barely above a whisper as he loomed over her, unintentionally boxing her in a little against the backside of her cabin in an effort to keep anyone from seeing her with him. The last thing he wanted was to ruin her reputation as an honest woman. "I'd like to ask for your forgiveness, Ms. Anderson. I know I did in my letter, but I feel an apology in person is necessary."

Floored by the apology, Ami could only shake her head, her expression perplexed as she continued to hold his gaze. "Mr. Nappa, I'm not sure what Ms. Koto told you, but there's absolutely nothing to forgive and no apology is necessary. What I mean to say is… I didn't mind the kissing. A kiss is hardly improper, nor would it tarnish my honor," she added with a reassuring smile, "though I'm very touched that you would take such a concern for my reputation, sir."

"Tell me… would you, um… begrudge me another?" He asked with a hint of nerves, bending down to her level but keeping his lips further from hers than he had the last time. "If the answer's no, I'll understand, but… I can't seem to get you out of my head, ma'am. Whenever I think of you it's like someone's put whiskey in my blood and set fire to it."

His choice of metaphor aptly described how she'd felt about him as of late whenever he entered her mind, and Ami turned the color of a sunset as she licked her lips in anticipation and just barely tipped her head in consent.

Expecting the same fire and passion as last time, Ami gasped in surprise when Roy closed the gap, only to tentatively press his lips to hers, the contact infinitely slow and gentle, her lips parting in a silent request for more when he continued to keep it light and sweet after half a minute. Eyes shut to concentrate on how good he felt pressing her into the wall, Ami moaned softly at the first hesitant touch of his tongue to hers, taking the initiative and stroking hers boldly over his.

Apparently he'd been waiting on an eager response from her, because that did him in, and Roy groaned low in his throat as he hauled her up against him and deepened the kiss, panting for air as he devoured her zealously, drinking in every soft little noise of approval that she emitted, trying to convey in that one kiss how desperately he yearned for more with her.

The trembling in her hands easing as she surrendered to the moment, Ami pressed for more as his warmth seeped into her through her dress, the hand buried in her hair making her tingle and ache between her thighs as she had the last time, another moan escaping her when his lips broke from hers and moved to her throat to kiss and lick a trail over her racing pulse. "R—Roy…"

The helpless whimper of his name stopped him, and Nappa fought simply to breathe as he shakily kissed her neck once more, then her lips. "Sorry," he rasped, "I didn't mean to take advantage, ma'am."

Still clutching at his back, Ami nodded, just as breathless as he, her eyes hazy with desire and her lips slightly swollen from his eager kissing. "It—it's quite alright," she managed, her voice equally hoarse. "I lost my head as well." For a moment there, she'd entertained the idea of pulling him inside her home and throwing propriety right out the window to let him do whatever he damn well pleased, and the knowledge that she nearly had done so rocked her to the core. "I'll just saddle my horse," she offered as he stepped back, his hand quickly smoothing out the once-perfect curls that his fingers had disturbed.

"I already saddled her for you, actually. I hope you don't mind. I also took the liberty of putting a regular saddle on her instead of a sidesaddle, since the terrain is a little rough in places. I wouldn't want you falling off."

Ami preferred riding astride, but she hesitated for a moment before nodding, worrying briefly about who would see her doing so, only to remember that if anyone did happen to see her with Roy, her riding like a man would be the least of her problems. "Oh, it's fine, Mr. Nappa, thank you for thinking of my safety."

"I always will, ma'am, that's a promise. Now… I've got both horses just around the corner of the cabin in the dark. We'll need to mount fast and leave quickly and quietly at a trot down Main Street as soon as we make sure that there ain't any lawmen in sight."

"I'll follow you, then," she giggled, trying her best to fight down an excited smile at the prospect of dodging the law. It was a little scary, but it was still awfully thrilling at the same time, so Ami took his offered arm when he flashed her a grin and let him lead her around the house. To her credit, she only gasped when Nappa easily lifted her right onto Daisy's back, and she scrambled for the reins, grasping them just in time for him to quickly mount and walk Sloane past her.

Roy barely bit back a laugh when he heard her behind him and he looked over his shoulder. "Don't post!" He hissed out, shaking from his silent, barely repressed laughter when Ami immediately stopped lifting herself in time with her horse's trotting as if she was riding English… only to start bouncing in the saddle. Not that he was going to complain about what that bouncing was doing to her finer assets, especially without a corset in place. "Just move with the horse," he advised, "but don't post."

Blushing hotly in embarrassment, Ami nodded and tried her best, but still found the mostly silent ride out of town a little jarring. "I'm sorry, I don't ever trot! I always run Daisy or make her walk when I'm using a western saddle! It's too bouncy if I can't post!"

"It's alright, darlin'," he assured her as he slowed his own mount to a walk and she did the same so that they were side-by-side. "I have to say, you keep a rather good seat for a woman," he observed. "You rode a lot back east?"

"Yes, my father made sure I had regular lessons, and I competed a little in jumping as a child. I even rode most of the way west when we weren't on a train. It's better than sitting in a stuffy old carriage," she confided, "even if it isn't considered the most ladylike of options."

"Only child?" He guessed.

"Yes," Ami replied shyly. "My mother died in childbed, so I'm afraid that my father let me run wild for years, even after I reached marriageable age."

"Sounds like you were the apple of his eye, Ami. The man knew what he was doing, believe me. All good men love their little girls and want to give them everything."

"Your father did the same for your sister, I take it," she mused.

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it. That girl got everything, and I always got blamed when we got into trouble. I got my payback, though," he practically purred.

"Oh?"

"I made sure that she got stuck falling for Clyde's insufferable ass. Er… excuse my language, ma'am, but you met him the one time. If he wasn't rude to you, I'll sprout wings and fly away. The man's rude even when he's trying to be polite."

"He wasn't rude," Ami replied, choking a little on the lie.

"You're an awful liar, Ami," Nappa countered, grinning ear to ear as she snorted a little and finally laughed.

"Alright, alright! He was rude! Your sister must have the patience of a saint."

"Oh no, Bulma's a beautiful woman, but she's got a right explosive temper on her. Those two are a match made in the seventh circle of Hell when they get to arguing, and woe unto any that get caught in the crossfire. Ma and I prefer to sit back as far as possible with a bag of peanuts and watch the entertainment when they get going. And then we go off for a ride to avoid the making up," he added with a grimace. "Those two are loud in _everything _they—oh gosh, Ami, I'm so sorry! I suppose that was too much detail."

Clearing her throat, she shook her head even though she was trying her best not to be embarrassed at the thought of that short, cranky man making even the slightest attempt at any type of amorous activities. "The mere idea of him wooing anyone is terrifying."

"You'd think so, but Ma and I found it hilarious. He courted Bulma, but I swear on the moon that he was courting her ire more than anything, and the more she pushed him away, the harder he tried. After the first two attempts I didn't even have to egg him on anymore; Clyde knew Bulma well enough since our Ma helped raise him, and he knew she'd wanted to marry him ever since she was fifteen or sixteen."

"Has your father passed on, then? You don't mention him when you speak of your mother and sister."

"Yeah, the war took him when I was about twelve. We lived in Missouri when the war came west, and my Pa and Clyde's pa sent us all along to Arizona City before it got too bad," he sighed. "Pa and Mr. Vegeta were with the James and the Younger brothers when the Union came in, and Pa got shot dead in one of the skirmishes. And when the Union finally won the war three years later, Clyde's father came home. He told us he'd promised Pa that he'd look after Ma and us. They got married a year later, but he passed on a couple winters ago from consumption."

"I'm so sorry, Roy," Ami whispered empathically. "I lost my father as well. It… it was a really rough death for him. He didn't even make it here; he only made it as far as Kansas. I took the train the rest of the way when the consumption finished him in Dodge City."

So she was still in mourning if she'd only been there a month, and Roy felt a pang of guilt at the knowledge and tugged his reins to stop Sloane. "Ma'am, if I'd known you'd suffered such a loss so soon, I wouldn't have asked to court you as quickly as I did. You should have said something without worrying about insulting me."

"I mourned my father's death while he suffered, Mr. Nappa. I'll always miss him, but I was grateful to see his pain end. I assure you that my father's death was the furthest thing from my mind when you asked permission to come calling."

Her sincere smile and pretty blush convinced him, and the outlaw nodded solemnly as he nickered to his horse to get him moving again. "So… what _were_ you thinking of, then?"

Ami's eyes went wide at that and she couldn't have possibly turned any redder, nor could she look him in the face when she answered, "definitely not my father."

"I will drop the subject then," Roy chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mirth after nearly a mile of silence. He watched her discreetly the entire time, smiling when she started to look around and really relax in the saddle, clearly enjoying the scenery. Not wanting to spoil her pleasure with more words, he decided to just stay quiet until they'd reached their destination.

They were there after only another ten minutes, though, and Roy gave her an awkward shrug and a smile as he slid down from his horse and pointed to a large blanket he'd laid out for them to sit on before he'd come the rest of the way to Peach Grove. "I hope you're at least a little hungry even though it's late," he rumbled as he waited for her to swing her leg over to dismount and he simply lifted her from the saddle and set her on her feet.

"Oh. You brought food?" She asked, her surprise earnest as he gestured towards the blanket. Ami sat as requested while he went back to his horse and retrieved his saddlebags, and when he sat down and opened them, her mouth watered at the undeniable scent of fried chicken. "Where in Heaven's name did you get that at such an hour?"

"Heh… I asked Clyde to ask Koto to fry it up," he admitted. "Oh, here," he added quickly, drawing a bottle from the other side and setting it in front of her, glancing up nervously and waiting for her reaction. God, he sure hoped that she liked his gift. "Clyde said that this was a good year? I truly don't know the first thing about wine, so I'm glad he—what?" Roy asked, his smile dying when tears filled her eyes and she gingerly took the bottle in her hands.

Ami quickly wiped at her tears and smiled, giving a little shake of her head as she read the bottle, her fingers brushing the label as she remembered her father pouring a glass for both of them from the exact same winery in France. But that had been when they'd lived in New York, where imported goods were far cheaper than they were this far west. "Roy… this is too much. Really, it is. I know how much this costs and I really just can't accept such generosity."

"You won't toast our first outing?" Roy asked seriously. "Even if you don't want to see me again after tonight, I thought we could at least celebrate the first lady that ever allowed me to come calling, and I figured I'd give you a taste of home while we were at it. Wait, you do drink, don't you?" He asked, making a pained face at the thought of her being against imbibing. Dear God, he was going to have to give up one of his favorite things if he wanted to keep courting her.

"Of course I drink," Ami snorted. "Not to the excess, of course, but a couple glasses of wine never hurt anyone. It's just… this is very, very expensive, Roy."

While he knew that, he was a little embarrassed for her to bring up the price of the bottle, worrying that he'd gone overboard, praying that the excess of his purchase wouldn't drive her off or make her think of him as living beyond his means. "I don't usually buy that kind of thing if that's what you're concerned about, Ami. I just meant for it to be special, that's all. I'll put it away if you want."

"Gosh, I'm being rude," she sighed. "My apologies, Roy, I shouldn't question the price of a gift. Just promise me that you won't do this kind of thing all the time? The idea doesn't sit comfortably with me."

He decided at that to forgo the small offering of chocolate tucked away and save it for a later date; that had cost him a pretty penny as well so he'd store it in the cellar at the house he and Clyde sometimes hid out in up in the foothills. Roy laid out some clean napkins he'd brought as well as a couple tin cups, practically reading her thoughts by her expression when she eyed them. "Glasses don't exactly travel well in saddlebags, ma'am. Excuse the crudeness."

"No, I was only thinking that the metal might ruin the taste of the wine, is all. Roy, I'm not so high and mighty that I can't drink from a tin cup," Ami chuckled.

"Oh," he uttered, staring at the bottle and then the cups. "Well, darlin', I reckon we're about to get really classy, then."

"Excuse me?"

Grinning as he popped the cork out of the bottle, Roy simply held it out to her and removed the cups from the blanket, laughing when she just stared. His comment about getting classy suddenly made sense, and try as she might, Ami couldn't stop herself from laughing as well and taking the bottle from him to raise it like a glass. "Well… here's to… huh, I don't know. What should we toast to?"

"To not getting caught slipping in and out of town whenever I come calling," Nappa suggested, his eyes twinkling with mirth when she shrugged and drank deeply, then passed him the bottle. "I'll bring some canning jars or something next time. They're more durable than them fancy wine glasses—unless it matters what kind of glass it's made out of?"

"No, Mr. Nappa, it doesn't matter," Ami giggled. "And you need to drink to your own toast."

"Oh, right." He upended the bottle for a few seconds, gagging a little when he set it back down, his face puckering comically at the taste of the wine. "Ugh… how in the hell do you rich folks drink this stuff on a regular basis?"

"It's an acquired taste, I suppose. Much like your whiskey is to me," Ami suggested.

"It's awful," Roy sputtered as he drew a flask from his saddlebag and drank from it to wash the taste out with something that was significantly stronger. "Mmm… much better. Would you like some?"

"Oh, no thank you, I'm just fine with this," Ami said politely, smiling when he unwrapped the chicken from the clean white sack he'd stowed it in. "I will most definitely partake in some of that, however. It smells wonderful."

"Koto's the best cook in Arizona, and she does the cooking at the brothel on Mondays and Tuesdays since those are slow nights. If I could slip in and out of there without getting caught by Doc, I'd go as often as possible just to eat. Sorry I ain't got a fork and knife," he remarked as he set out a thigh and a leg for Ami and took a breast and another leg for himself.

"No worries," she assured him as she used the napkin to grip a piece of chicken and keep her fingers from getting greasy.

They ate slowly since both of them were overly self-concious about looking like a pig in front of each other, but when they were finished and the bones were stripped of meat and tossed out into the coarse grass, neither of them knew what to do.

"Did you want to head back?" Roy asked after a couple minutes passed in silence.

"No, unless you wanted to?" Ami replied, fidgeting nervously when he just sat there and watched her for a long moment. "What I mean to say is… I don't really know what to do, Mr. Nappa. I was only courted a handful of times back east, and every single time I was, the man initiated conversation."

"Heh, and I'll bet he didn't stop talking about himself, either," he huffed. "Well, like I said, I ain't never courted a woman before, so it's all new to me, and the only thing I can think of right now is to kiss you again." Her blush had him grinning in response, and Roy couldn't help a rush of pleasure when she actually scooted a little closer. "It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me, though," he amended.

Pretending like she hadn't just moved closer because she wanted a kiss, Ami leaned back on her hands and looked up at the stars. "So, do you live out this way?"

"That way, actually," Roy replied, pointing towards the north and the foothills. "The whole gang camps about five miles from here, and then there's a little house that Clyde and I share during colder weather."

"Clyde doesn't live with his wife?" Ami asked in surprise.

"Naw, not while we're doing jobs. Bulma lives with Ma out in Yuma. It's safer for them, especially since she's expecting my niece or nephew in the autumn. Clyde and I would prefer not to mix them up in our work, and since the town marshal in Yuma is always on the lookout for us, we'd only get caught if we did more than visit once a month."

"Oh my, that must be awfully hard on Bulma," Ami said sadly. "I don't think I'd be able to be away from my husband for such long stretches if I was married. How does she deal with it?"

"According to Ma, Bulma thanks her lucky stars that she gets a break from Clyde's mouth all but three days a month. I know she misses him, though, she told me as much last month and asked me to go straight." He clearly had Ami's attention at that, and Roy nervously licked his lips as he scooped up her hand and pressed a kiss into the palm. "I'm thinking real hard about doing just that, Ami. Thought you should know."

"Good. Because I need to be honest, Mr. Nappa; I very much enjoy your company, but I don't think that I can continue to let you court me if you're not going to stop robbing trains and banks. I mean no offense, but you know as well as I do that there isn't a point to courting if nothing can come of it," she added gently, hoping that she wouldn't hurt his feelings.

"I'll talk to Clyde in the morning when he's more agreeable, and then to the rest of the men. Hopefully they won't get their knickers in a twist when I quit; some of them can be downright surly when one of us talks about quitting," he mused aloud.

"You're really going to quit?" Ami asked in semi-disbelief. "You're going to stop robbing trains just to court me?" Try as she might, she couldn't think of a single thing that had flattered her more, and when Roy leaned in and kissed her, she returned it in earnest, her heart pounding at the thought of him leaving a life of crime just for her.

"I'll never steal another thing so long's you let me keep kissing you," he sighed happily as his fingers traced her throat and his eyes just drank in her beauty in the moonlight. He expected her to blush prettily as she had so often that night, or maybe to kiss him again, but the last thing Nappa expected was her hand shoving forcefully between them, extended in an offer to shake. "Huh?"

"You've got a deal," Ami stated firmly. "You stop stealing, and I'll let you kiss me as often as you like."

"Oh, so the lady wants to bargain with the outlaw?" Roy teased, only for his grin to ease back to a smile when she stared up at him seriously. "Alright, alright, I get it. You mean it. Well… I can't bargain for this Thursday, but I can promise you that I'll get out after then. I already done gave my word," he explained, "and I don't go back on my word."

"Another bank?" Ami sighed, dropping her hand into her lap.

"No, but I'd rather not talk about the job if that's alright with you, Ami." The way her shoulders had slumped and her refusal to look him in the eye again broke his heart, and Roy sat his hat down on the blanket to thoughtfully scrub at his bald head. "Look, Ami… I don't break promises that I make. Every outlaw's got their own personal code and keeping my promises is part of mine. If my word can't be trusted, then what have I got? My reputation's already soiled enough as it is by the kind of life I lead and I won't worsen it by having people say that Royston Nappa doesn't keep his word."

"Your word really means that much to you?"

"Yes ma'am, it does."

The little schoolteacher was looking up at him again, and Roy smiled when she stuck her hand back out for him to shake. "Thursday's your last job. Consider it your retirement."

"I get to kiss you as often as I like in exchange?" Roy asked, his eyebrows hitting his nonexistent hairline. When she nodded, Roy nearly bit his tongue, but he couldn't help himself as his massive hand engulfed hers. "You're not going to specify _where_ I'm allowed to kiss you?"

"I suppose I'd trust you not to ambush me in the privy or while I'm teaching the children or—" The feeling of his lips on her throat sent shivers down her spine, and Ami practically melted when she felt them part and his teeth gently nibbled at her pulse, coaxing a soft moan from her mouth. "Oh… _where_, not where," she gasped in surprise, vaguely aware that her hands had taken on a mind of their own and were cradling his head to her as he continued to worship the tender flesh of her neck. Caught up in the moment and the warmth growing in her belly with every gentle kiss, Ami didn't protest, but when he trailed his mouth to her collarbone and a rough hand pushed at the cloth covering her shoulder, she stopped him. "Roy…"

"Sorry," he rasped against the creamy skin, giving it a single open-mouthed kiss before tugging the calico back into place. "I got carried away, darlin', forgive me?"

"Mmhmm," she answered, giving the giant hand engulfing hers a little shake. "Do we have a deal, Mr. Nappa? I'll trust you to use your better judgment and be a gentleman regarding _where_ you're kissing me."

"An awful lot of trust to show the likes of me, ma'am," Roy rumbled as he dared to nuzzle her neck and draw in her sweet, clean scent.

"I've already shown more than enough by coming out here with you in the first place," she countered, drawing in an unsteady breath when she felt his lips whispering over her earlobe, clutching at him tightly when he briefly sucked it into his mouth. "R—Roy…"

The sound of her breathing his name in his ear did something funny to his stomach, and Nappa was suddenly overcome by less than pure thoughts that involved her doing the same while he was buried inside of her. He was the one to break away then, his smile shaky when she just looked up at him in bewildered surprise. "You've got a deal, Ms. Anderson," he chuckled as he shook her hand. "I promise that Thursday's my last job."

**Whew, finally! *dies* With the kids interrupting me every other sentence, this book is coming along slowly, but it's coming along nonetheless! Please review and let me know what yall think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A HUGE shoutout to UltBlonde for getting me rolling on this again. The book version of this is due to be out by Black Friday, but the writer's block has been HORRIBLE. If not for UltBlonde, I wouldn't have started rolling on this story again, and I probably wouldn't see my first book published until next year. So thank you so much, honey! You have no idea how much you really helped me yesterday!**

"How'd it go?"

"Clyde! You actually waited up for me!? How sweet!" When his brother-in-law just rolled his eyes, Roy roared with laughter as he unsaddled his horse, and when he let Sloane loose on the hobble so he could graze, the much taller man came over and hugged him tightly, picking him up and swinging him around.

Clyde let loose quite a few vulgar, extensive protests, but when Nappa set him down he just rolled his eyes and glared up at him. "Don't do that again, Roy."

"Sorry, I'm just so happy! God, I just left and I already want to see her again," he sighed, his expression wistful as he went to his bedroll and laid back. "Is that crazy, Clyde? Did you go through that with Bulma, too?"

Clyde rolled his eyes again in the dark as he flopped down into his own bedroll, but he couldn't help but feel a little happy for his brother-in-law even if he was annoying the hell out of him. "Don't you ever tell her I said it, but yeah. I still miss her every second I'm not with her," he admitted grudgingly. God, if Bulma _ever_ found out that he missed her every waking moment, he'd never hear the end of it!

"Clyde… you ever think of quitting? You know, like you told me the other day?" Roy asked carefully. Sure, he'd said he'd wait to tell him until the morning, but Nappa had never been good about keeping his mouth shut when something was weighing on his mind.

"Why? You taking my advice?"

Aware that his brother had shifted around to focus his full attention on him, Roy swallowed hard and nodded. "Actually… I promised Ami that Thursday would be my last job," he confessed, cringing when Clyde glared at him and sat up abruptly. "What!? You _encouraged _me to quit, Clyde!"

"Yeah, but I was planning that job to rob the Pinkerton payroll in two weeks!" He shouted across the dying fire. "We need you for that job, Roy—I meant that you should quit, yeah, but I didn't think you'd just go and do it the same damned week! Are you insane!? You know that Frank's gonna be pissed as hell at you for quitting before we've done that job, and Roger's already pissed about the bank thing!"

"They still got their money," Roy huffed. "What does it matter that it came from me—"

"It's the principle and you know it," Clyde repeated for the millionth time since the botched robbery. "Roger's _still _talking about going into town and scaring the hell out of your little teacher for stopping you, and as soon as he hears about you quitting—"

"If Roger touches a hair on her head I'll kill him," Nappa replied evenly. "And he knows just as well as I do that I won't hesitate to put a bullet in his skull. He couldn't even hope to beat me in a fistfight, let alone a gunfight."

"He's also stupid when he's mad, Roy. And stupid doesn't give a shit about the facts, especially when stupid also happens to be mean as hell and drunk half the time. Look," Clyde sputtered, grasping for every ounce of patience he had, "just stick it out 'til the Pinkerton thing and you should be able to quit without any problems."

"Clyde, I gave my word," Nappa stated evenly. "I don't break my promises, and I'm definitely not breaking one that I made to Ami. Thursday's it. I'm done."

Vegeta got it, but he shook his head as he laid back down and stared up at the stars for a long time, finally sighing heavily when he heard Roy changing out of his cleanest clothes. "I'd advise you to have a plan to run if Roger decides to get even with you for this, Roy. And while I don't think he'd go after your little teacher except to just scare her, you'd best keep an eye on her as well. You're about to make that man your enemy."

"Yeah… I know," Roy sighed as he laid back down and rolled up in his blanket. "I'll let Ami know when we get back from Thursday's job. No sense in worrying her when there's nothing to worry about yet."

"You're thinking about marrying her, aren't you, Roy?" Clyde asked after a long silence.

"Yeah," the bigger man replied without hesitation, "I am. Why? You don't think it's too soon to think about asking her, do you?" He asked worriedly, rolling around in his blankets to look at Clyde and gauge his reaction. "Should I wait a little while longer? I mean shit, plenty of people decide to get married after courting for only a few days."

"Sure, but they ain't from back east," Clyde said slowly. "Roy, I ain't saying it's a bad idea, but I think you might want to wait a couple more weeks to ask her. She might think you're rushing things. And you might also want to have something worthwhile to offer her, too."

Knowing exactly what he meant, Roy sighed and nodded. "Yeah, it wouldn't do to propose without having a home to take her to or even a ring to offer. Hey… maybe I could go ask Ma for one of her rings? Do you think she'd mind?"

"She'd likely turn cartwheels to see you finally getting married," Clyde chuckled as he rolled onto his stomach, then yawned into his pillow tiredly. "Hell, Ma probably wouldn't know what to do about having two other women at home and her boys as well."

Her boys…? "Wait, Clyde? You mean that you'll—"

"Yeah, yeah, don't make a big deal about it," he mumbled as he closed his eyes. "We do this shit together, Roy. If you're getting out than I might as well get out, too. I know Bulma will at least sleep easier if I'm home every night."

"You too, brother. I know how you toss and turn when you ain't home."

Too tired to argue, Vegeta just shrugged. "It's 'cause I'm used to the woman snoring in my ear or talking in her sleep, not because I miss her or anything. Now shut your trap and let me get some shuteye, damn it!"

##########################################

"Morning, Ms. Koto!" Ami called cheerily as she stepped into the brothel with only a minimal blush to her cheeks and adjusted her bonnet under the stares of a dozen men sitting around and eating breakfast.

"Morning, sugar, what can I get for you?" The madame asked as she came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "And how was your night?" She added quietly as soon as she was only a foot away, waggling her eyebrows at the schoolmarm. She'd noted the teacher's cheery mood and knew that it must have been good, but she wanted the details! "I saw yall coming back into town, and I must say it was _awfully late _to be out courting. You two didn't get up to anything scandalous, did you? If you did, by all means enlighten me," she giggled.

Ami could only shake her head vigorously and stammer out a "no" as she looked around to make sure that no one had overheard, and once she was positive that none of the men had been listening in, she huffed in mild annoyance. "Of course not. He was the perfect gentleman. Okay, mostly," she amended sheepishly when Koto lifted an incredulous eyebrow, "but I hardly think that kissing is improper."

"Depends on _where_ he's kissing you," the older woman quipped.

Wisely deciding not to reply to that comment, Ami just nodded towards the kitchen, her cheeks flaming hot in embarrassment as she remembered Roy's lips passionately devouring hers for at least a half hour the night before, and the numerous times they'd wandered to her neck. Thankfully for her, it was still cool enough to wear her high-necked dresses, and she'd thanked God for that when she'd noticed the love bites he'd left on her creamy skin as well as how swollen her lips were from his eager kisses, even hours later.

"I don't suppose I could order some breakfast for two? I had a student show up this morning and I thought I'd treat her for being my only student in a week."

"Sure, it must be Rosie's daughter, I know they finished all their planting yesterday. And Ms. Anderson," Koto added quickly, "you know I'm just having a bit of fun with you. Don't take me too seriously…" Her expression shifted as she trailed off, and suddenly the madame beckoned to her and jerked her head towards the kitchen.

Unsure what was wrong, Ami complied and followed, only to stare in confusion when Koto busted out into peals of hysterical laughter the moment the kitchen door was closed. 'What's so funny?"

"You—you've got something right there!" She cackled, pointing at her own neck, the same spot where Ami had a nice little red mark showing amongst the dark curls of hair hanging down from her eastern hairstyle. "Oh Jesus, too funny!" Koto continued when the teacher blushed hotly and looked around for a reflective surface to use. "Just hold still, I've got this! You could call me a bit of a professional at covering lovebites," she added with a titter as she tried to get her laughter under control and started pulling pins from Ami's beautifully styled hair. "There," she snickered after only a couple of minutes while stuffing the extra pins in the schoolmarm's pocket. "In fact," Koto continued, suddenly serious and studying her hair critically, "you really need to wear it down more often. I bet a silver dollar that Nappa would shit his britches if he ever came over and saw your hair tumbling to your waist. Heh… and speaking of waists, I notice that _someone_ ain't wearing a corset today."

"Why must _everyone _comment on my undergarments?" Ami sputtered in embarrassment.

"Because you look so much lovelier with your curves showing," a low voice rumbled from the doorway, sending a shiver of desire up Ami's spine. She spun in place at that and immediately beamed in delight at the sight of Nappa, only to look at the floor shyly at the naked lust in his eyes. "You usually wear your hair down?" He choked out after a long moment of staring at her unabashedly.

"I… no," Ami giggled, her face heating up brightly. "Ms. Koto was covering up the marks you left on my neck."

The mention of marks broke Roy out of the fantasy running through his head of trailing his fingers through all of that hair as she wrapped her legs around him, and he stepped forward to push the thick curtain of black curls to the side, only for him to look more than a little sheepish at the sight of his handiwork. "Holy…" He tugged her collar down a little and cringed at the multitude of marks trailing over her throat. "…shit, darlin', I'm so sorry, I didn't think I'd left marks," he finally whispered, trailing his fingertips over one just below her ear. "I guess your skin's more sensitive than I'd thought."

"It's alright," she replied with only a hint of shyness, noting that Koto had gone back to cooking to give them a semblance of privacy. "So, what brings you to town so early, Mr. Nappa?"

"Oh! Well, I didn't expect you to be here and I was going to drop this off with Ms. Koto," he mumbled, suddenly the one that was shy as he drew a piece of paper out of his pocket, hesitating a moment before handing it over. "I suppose I can deliver it directly to you, ma'am… and stop calling me Mr. Nappa?" he added hopefully. "Mr. Nappa was my father."

"And it's a bit ridiculous to be so formal after he painted that masterpiece on your throat," Koto interjected from the stove with a chuckle.

"I suppose I could be persuaded to drop the formalities, Roy. Forgive me, it's a habit. I'm sure you understand," she giggled as she began to unfold the paper in her hands.

"Oh no, please, wait until I'm gone?" He asked awkwardly. "It's just that I find it embarrassing when people read something I wrote when I'm standing right there. Sorry," he grumbled sheepishly as he tried not to imagine her reacting badly to his note; he so desperately wanted to spend some more time with her before the job on Thursday!

"No, it's alright, I have the same problem," Ami confessed. "Whenever it came time for my essays to be read aloud in class, I'd try to hide my head and crawl under my desk." Judging by his body language, Roy was fighting the urge to do the exact same thing as he nervously shuffled his feet and fixated on the note in her hand, and the teacher couldn't help but laugh as she stuffed it in the pocket of her skirt. "There, better?"

Seeing how awkward it was getting between the two and how Roy was practically vibrating with the need to say things that he probably shouldn't say just yet, Ms. Koto saved the day by setting a large, covered plate on the counter beside Ami. "There you go, sugar. And Roy, Doc's sleeping in my room, but you know as well as I that he'll be up and moving any minute. You might wanna skedaddle."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks, Koto." He sighed at that and turned towards the door, but stopped and looked back down at the schoolmarm, hesitating to go, unsure what to say or how to part from her. "I um… I'm terribly sorry about the marks, Ami. You're not mad, are you?"

"No," she assured him, her face heating up as she fidgeted in place. Would he just leave without so much as a kiss? After their heated embrace under the stars the night before, surely he'd at least give her one kiss, right?

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, just kiss her, Roy," Koto snorted, rolling her eyes as she brushed past them. "I'll even give you some privacy if that's what you were waiting for."

The madame only gave them the illusion of privacy, though, unbeknownst to them, grinning as she watched them through the crack of the door and how quickly Roy was lifting her against him to kiss her, a low groan escaping him just as Ami let loose a happy moan. _I swear I'm gonna start taking bets, _she mused as she watched them practically devour each other. _I'd put my money on a wedding in the next thirty days, and if I'm wrong I'll even marry Doc as a penalty._

####################################

"I know he was here, Koto," Doc ground out angrily as he pinned her in place with his eyes and tried his very best to ignore the fact that she was wearing his favorite dress—the one that revealed as much as it concealed and brought out the color of her eyes—and his cooked his favorite foods for breakfast. "And you trying to butter me up isn't going to make me any less inclined to hang Nappa when I finally catch him."

"He's going straight, John," she argued patiently as she crossed the bedroom and set his plate on the nightstand. "He's quitting that line of work and he has every intention of asking Ms. Anderson to marry him, Clyde told me so himself this morning when they rode in. Don't tell me that you'd actually string up a good man for doing some bad things when there are far worse men out there than him that get away with murder."

"Some bad things?" The marshal sputtered incredulously. "Are you shittin' me, Koto? Some bad things!? He's robbed the Pinkertons three times at least and God only knows how many trains and banks! The man is wanted in almost every territory, and you want me to just look the other way and let him ride off with that poor, innocent schoolmarm!? Are you _insane_!?" He ranted.

"I might be," she said seriously, her voice soft and low and even a little nervous as she climbed onto the bed and brazenly straddled him. "John… I want to have the talk again."

Doc has been about to go into a long tirade about his concern for Ms. Anderson, but Koto's words stopped him cold and he regarded her heavily. "You're doing this just to distract me," he whispered hotly. "Koto, I've put up with a lot of things in the past, but—"

A kiss silenced him, and the intensity of his feelings for her came out in the kiss, just like they always did, his tongue dancing lightly with hers and one hand drawing her tightly to him as the other cupped her face and he sighed happily. She always knew how to shut him up, she knew how deeply he loved her, and God damn him, he couldn't even hold it against her when she used that knowledge to get whatever she wanted out of him. "Koto, I'm not having the talk with you in exchange for me letting him go," he somehow managed when she broke the kiss.

The madame was hearing none of it, and she shook her head as she kissed his forehead. "Doc, I just want me girls taken care of. I want to be sure that they're safe. I don't want them abused and poorly used like them girls over at the Diamond. My place is safe, my girls are happier than most in their line of work, and that's what keeps the customers coming back. That's all I want—a guarantee that they'll be taken care of."

Unlike every other time, her argument was surprisingly simple, and Doc found himself nodding slightly. "I don't want to see the girls get hurt, either," he answered slowly. "But who will own the Emerald?"

"On paper, it'll be Rei. She's bright and dependable and she doesn't take any shit from the pushier patrons. And I can trust her to make sure that the girls are well-cared for with regular visits from the doctor and time off during their monthlies. In a second contract between me and her, I'll get fifty percent of the profits, and I'll still come by once a week to make sure that things are running smoothly," she finished softly. "And Doc… no one has to know about the second contract. I won't even keep a room here."

"I would certainly hope not." Doc ignored the fact that he was rock hard beneath the sheets from that one kiss and considered her offer for a couple minutes, reaching over and snagging a piece of bacon to munch on in the meantime. "That's it? Just once a week?" Her quick, sure nod had him fighting down the urge to smile, and he hid it well around the food in his mouth as he let a hand idly wander to the ties of her bodice. "You're going to throw in some kind of condition about Roy, aren't you—don't give me that look, Koto, I'm not stupid. I know when you're plotting something."

"You could consider it a wedding gift to your loving wife," she suggested seriously. "It doesn't require any thought or planning, either, and it doesn't cost you a thing. You just have to look the other way and let him continue to call on Ami until they get hitched and ride off into the sunset."

"And then you'll be mine?" He asked, trying not to sound too eager at the thought of finally having her in his bed every night and by his side every day, just like she should have been for the past several years. Dear God, how long had it been since he'd first asked her to marry him? "All mine? You'll actually get up in front of the padre and say 'I do?'"

"Mmhmm," she agreed as he tugged the laces of her dress free and she spilled out of the green silk, his hand immediately sliding up to cup a generous breast and thumb the nipple. "I'll even give you more babies if you want them, Doc. Anything you want."

Their positions were quickly reversed, and the marshal grinned down at her mischievously as he pushed her skirts up to her waist and pressed his arousal against her, unsurprised to find her wet and ready for him. Hell, she was always ready for him and they both knew it. "Anything at all?"

"You have to agree to my terms first, John," she answered breathlessly, fighting down the urge to rock into him and just lose herself for the rest of the morning. But he wasn't replying, he was just grinning down at her knowingly, a hand slipping further south to massage her nub, licking his lips when she couldn't contain a soft, submissive whimper. "J—John… please…"

"Let me hear a yes," he whispered, continuing the lazy motions of his hand as he eased into her slowly, a gasp escaping him when she flexed around him tightly and she let out a quiet moan. "Lita Koto, will you marry me?"

"Yes," she sighed, rolling her hips against his in a demand for him to move.

"You've got my yes as well, then," he promised, sealing it with a kiss as he finally gave her what she wanted and he began to move.

###############################################

_Dear Ami,_

_ I know I only just saw you last night, but I would be the happiest man in the world if you'd allow me to come calling again tonight. I couldn't sleep because I was up thinking about you for hours, so I'm going to get some rest now and I'll return late in the afternoon in hopes that you'll share supper with me. I know I'll dream of nothing but your beauty and how it lights up my world._

_ Sincerely yours,_

_ Royston William Nappa_

Ami's heart wouldn't stop pounding as she read the short letter during breakfast, and she spent the next several hours trying to teach sums and Spanish to her only pupil for the day while she tried not to let her own mind wander to thoughts of Roy's kisses, her face flushed whenever she thought of his strong arms embracing her only that morning.

Surely not as flushed as they'd been last night, though, when Roy had escorted her to her door and kissed her with a passion that had her melting, but she knew she was definitely blushing brightly enough for anyone with half a brain to figure out that she was flustered over a man.

Her day couldn't have gone by fast enough, and Ami found herself cleaning everything in her home from top to bottom after she'd dismissed her student, finding herself more eager than she'd ever been to receive company.

She couldn't have possibly gotten her cabin any cleaner by the time there was a knock at the door, and the teacher hurried to answer it quickly so as not to risk anyone seeing him standing on her porch. "Come in," she said quickly as she beamed up at him, checking to make sure no one was watching once he was inside and then shutting and barring the door. "You took a big risk coming to town twice in a day, Roy," she told him as she turned and found him smiling down at her adoringly. Ami had been trying for a chastising tone, but since she couldn't wipe the grin from her face, it came out more like a chuckle.

"It was worth it," he informed her as he sat down the large basket in his hands and pulled her to him, willing his cock to stay down at the sight of her hair trailing to her waist. He'd dreamed about that hair while he'd slept, of running his fingers through it, of how it would drape against his chest as she rode him, of how it would smell when he buried his face in it while she wrapped her legs around him and he loved her slow and deep. "Been waiting all day just to kiss you again," he sighed as he captured her lips with his own, groaning when she instantly melted against him like she had last night and that morning.

The echo of their previous kisses stopped there, though, because after a few moments, Ami was no longer melting; she was returning it with a need that bordered on aggression, her hands clutching tightly at his back, and when he bunched a hand in her hair and plundered her mouth in response, she let out a moan of desire.

Roy was just as caught up in the moment as she was and pressed her against the nearest wall, hauling her up against him and off her feet, groaning loudly when her legs instinctively went around him, her skirt bunching up in the process to expose her calves. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the hand in her hair from slipping down to stroke the exposed, creamy flesh above her stockings, and before he knew what he was even doing his fingers were sliding beneath the hem of her dress.

The feeling of his calloused palm stroking the top of her thigh set her off, and Ami made a soft, feminine noise of approval, her own hands beginning to wander the expanse of muscled chest pressing to her, her fingers nimbly separating the buttons from their holes. She had no concious idea of what she was doing, she was only overcome with the raw need to feel as much of him as possible as he continued to kiss her senseless, and when her hands smoothed over bare skin instead of clean black cotton, the building heat between her thighs became unbearable. "Roy," she whimpered between kisses, "Roy, I…"

"I want you so bad, darlin'," he panted as he broke the kiss, the hand caressing her thigh trembling as it crept a little higher. "Never wanted a woman this bad in my life."

"I want to," she admitted, her voice shaky and her eyes closed as she drew in his clean, masculine scent and savored the sparks of pleasure with every absent stroke of his fingers to her bare leg. "And I've never wanted that with a man before except you, but… my virtue, Roy. I know I may as well be an old spinster, but I would save that for a man that would be goodly enough to marry me."

_Which will be me one day soon if you'd do me the honor, _he thought as he nodded and kissed her once more, savoring the way she melted into him yet again. Sure, they had only gone out courting one time, but Roy was a hair's breadth away from dropping to his knees right there to beg her for her hand in marriage. But no, he wanted to do it right, just like Clyde had advised. With his mother's ring and with witnesses that would see how much he valued the amazingly brave little woman that had stolen his heart.

"Sorry," he whispered, his voice trembling as he set her on her feet and kissed her one more time, dialing back the intensity to keep himself from losing his better sense and risk offending her or scaring her. "Forgive me, darlin', I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I just want you more than anything I've ever wanted in my life," he sighed as he quickly buttoned his shirt up, his skin still tingling where her fingers had explored the muscles of his torso.

"It's alright, Roy," Ami managed as she tried to get her racing heart to slow and attempted to ignore the warm, not unpleasant ache between her thighs. "Just so we're clear, I really do want you, too," she added seriously, swallowing down her shyness to look him in the face as she spoke. "It's just a little fast, Roy, especially when I've never really been genuinely courted before."

"I know, I'm sorry," he repeated as he continued to fight down his desires and he scooped her hand up to lead her back to the table. "Come on, darlin', let's eat and talk and I'll try to keep my hands to myself, alright?"

"So," he continued as he started to dish out the meal that he'd asked Koto to make for them, "we didn't talk as much as I would have liked last night, which I'll admit was my fault, so I'll just stay on my side of the table unless you tell me otherwise."

The wink he tipped her way broke the awkwardness that Ami was suddenly feeling, and she took her food from him with a thank you before pouring him a glass of iced tea and another for herself. "I wanted to ask you where you learned to write like that. Not your mother, either," she added, "because I doubt your mother taught you how to write poetry to woo the ladies."

"Naw, I learned that from the classics," he admitted. "Just don't tell anyone and ruin my reputation, ok? But I love Shakespeare. Damned good writer," he mused with his mouth full, forgetting his manners in lieu of discussing one of the topics that he could never really talk about with anyone else. "He's great at cracking lewd jokes without a lot of readers picking up on it."

That had Ami's attention, and she stopped chewing for a moment to try and recall anything she'd read that had come off as particularly risqué outside of the plot itself. "What do you mean? Puns?"

"Haha, yes, actually! There were even times when they'd perform his plays and the actors would slip in the word—er, um… no, best not start talking that kind of language in front of you, ma'am. My apologies."

Seeing Roy blush never failed to make her smile since she'd never seen one on a man his size until she'd met him, and Ami squeezed his hand and waggled her eyebrows. "Roy, if we're discussing Shakespeare and there's something I don't know about it, don't you dare sugarcoat anything. I want to know! What would they say?"

"Well, when they were performing, the banter would be so quick that an actor could easily get away with changing a word in a line, so it wasn't uncommon for them to sometimes say 'fuck' just for laughs. And the audience would be sitting there wondering whether or not they'd heard right," Roy explained slowly, watching her face carefully for any offense so that he could immediately apologize.

Ami wasn't offended, though, on the contrary, she was laughing hysterically the moment he was done speaking, fighting for balance in her chair when she nearly fell out of it. "Oh my stars, that's great! Please, tell me he did other things besides, that!"

"Wow, Ami, that's opening a whole kettle of fish, you know… ok, Twelfth Night, my favorite of Shakespeare's plays… in act two, Malvolio makes a pun that not a lot of people pick up on. 'By my life, this is my lady's hand these be her very C's, her U's and her T's and thus makes she her great P's.'"

Ami was only confused after mulling it over for a minute, and she finally shook her head. "I give up. It has something to do with the letters?"

"Heh, yeah… her C's… her U's… _**an**_' her T's…" Roy stopped there, and it was his turn to laugh at the teacher's horrified expression. "I told you they're awful, darlin'!"

"Oh my stars… 'and thus makes she her great P's...' William Shakespeare was a cad! …but I must confess, I'm curious to hear any others," she admitted with only a hint of embarrassment.

"Well, in The Taming of the Shrew, Pertruchio suggests to Katharina that he would use his tongue on her tail," Roy chuckled, "and that one's not even subtle. That's act two, scene one. Then in Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio tells Romeo, 'O Romeo, that she were! Oh, that she were an open arse, and thou a poperin pear.' And I swear that if you don't get it, I ain't explaining it," he finished nervously. "Because I'm fairly sure you'll slap the life out of me for that one."

"Oh no, I get it," she giggled. "Gosh, he was so dirty! Almost as dirty as that book my cousin Wilhemina got for me! I guess I'm just not very good at picking up on subtle perverted lines."

The way she'd glanced towards her small bookshelf made Nappa pause, and he looked over there as well, wondering just what book her cousin had given Ami that could make her fidget nervously in her seat. "Ok, you have to tell me. What book?"

"Oh, it's not something fit for polite conversation, Roy!" She said quickly jumping out of her chair when he grinned and made right for the books she'd been eyeing. "Oh no, you're going to think me a horrible pervert! Please don't!"

The outlaw was already there, though, and his eyes lit up at the sight of a book he'd heard about but had never read, and he quickly plucked it from the shelf. "I haven't read this one yet!" He exclaimed. "Can I borrow it!? Please!? Was it as indecent as The Lustful Turk?" He added with a laugh in an attempt to make her smile.

Ami could only nod, her eyes wide and her face hot as she recalled just _how_ indecent it had been, and how very, very detailed it had described a lot of things that went on between men and women… and sometimes _two_ men. "Let's just say that I learned a great many things from it that I don't think I even wanted to know," she remarked in a strangled tone.

"I tell you what… you loan me The Romance of Lust, and when I see you again on Monday, I'll bring you my copies of The Pearl to read. I've got all of them tucked away at Ma's. And furthermore, I swear on my honor to never breathe a word of any questionable reading materials that we might share," he promised, daring to step forward with the volume in hand and stooping to kiss her. "deal?"

"You've really got all of the issues of The Pearl? All nine?" She asked, suddenly all business where books were concerned, especially now that she wasn't back east where it was far easier to procure hard-to-find publications. And The Pearl was a rarity that she'd been unable to find all year… at least until now.

"Yup, and I'll even bring you the new issues after I've read them. We got a trade, beautiful?"

"I swear, you know exactly what to say to get your way," she snorted, rolling her eyes even though she was still endlessly flattered whenever he called her that.

"I say it because it's true," he replied earnestly, setting the book aside to press against her and tip her chin up with a calloused finger. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life," he told her softly, his knuckles tracing her jawline. "And anyone that states otherwise is either blind or stupid. Hell, Ami, what even gives you the idea that you're not beautiful? You've got the prettiest blue eyes ever. They sparkle when you laugh, and your laugh alone turns the head of everyone that hears it. And your hair… well, you already know damned well how much I love your hair," he sighed, running his hands through it all the way to her waist. "Look, I'm not good with these kinds of things unless I'm writing them down. Expect a letter tucked into one of those magazines," he teased, "and in it I'll declare you Aphrodite reborn."

"How you're still unmarried astounds me," she said slowly as she tried not to faint from the way his voice alone made her pulse hammer away in her throat.

"You could fix that, you know," he breathed before his better sense could stop him. No, he didn't want to propose just yet, damn it! He wanted to wait for when he had his mother's ring, so he didn't give her a chance to reply out of fear of being rebuffed; he only kissed her again, sighing longingly into it as she opened to him and their tongues slowly danced, wishing that she'd see how hopelessly in love with her he was and that she'd stop being so nervous in his presence. It would take time, he knew that, but Roy couldn't help but look forward to the day when she'd accept the fact that she was the most beautiful woman in the world as far as he was concerned. "Come on," he urged her as he broke away and tried his best not to so much as glance in the direction of the bed in the corner. "Let's finish eating before the food gets cold."

Both of them were mostly quiet during the remainder of dinner, exchanging glances on occasion as they each thought about what he'd said about fixing his bachelor status. Nappa was secretly terrified of her bringing up the subject just to set him straight and declare that a marriage would never work out between them, but thankfully for him, Ami didn't mention it.

The teacher nearly did a few times, but she only blushed and took another bite of her supper whenever the temptation to say something arose; any comment she might have made wouldn't have been negative, though. Her analytical mind was working away on the possibilities, actually, putting together different ways they could make it work while puzzling out where they would live and what they could possibly do to make a living.

Training robbing was definitely not an option, and not only because he'd sworn to quit stealing once Thursday's job was complete. Could Royston take up farming, perhaps? She didn't know, but she decided to remind herself to ask on Monday when he came back with the promised periodicals. If he couldn't farm but he truly wanted to ask for her hand, Ami knew that she had enough money to get them through for a couple of years if they were careful about their spending—she had everything her father had left her, along with her dowry, and once it was all put together it was more than enough to purchase a nice farm and a little house.

It could work—more importantly, _they_ could work—and the more Ami thought about it, the harder time she had of not thinking about the physical pleasures that would come with marriage. Try as she might, she couldn't deny that she wanted to try some of the things her cousin had told her about, things that were also detailed in the book Mina had given her a gift. Would Roy want to try those things with her, or would he want everything from her at once? Maybe if she asked him, he'd—

"You alright, beautiful?" Roy asked as he was clearing the table and taking the dishes to the basin. "I didn't say anything to upset you, did I?"

The worry in his eyes got her attention, and Ami quickly shook her head and waved her hands briefly to dispel such a thought. "No, Roy, not at all, I was only thinking, that's all. My apologies if I seemed rude for getting so quiet."

"Naw, don't apologize, I was just worrying that I might have made you angry. So… any chance you'd like to go out riding with me once these dishes are clean?" He asked hopefully. "I've got Sloane saddled and tied beside Daisy if you're not too tired."

"No, I'm not too tired, but…" Ami came to a decision then and stood just as he dumped the last plate into the water, and she grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the bed, her face coloring brightly as she chose to see if he would be up for some exploration without any actual sex. "Would you like to stay in for a while?"

She knew she was being horribly forward with him and that her request wasn't remotely ladylike, but the more she thought about being married to him, the more she wanted to experience something physical with him as well. "Don't get me wrong," she said quickly, "I still want to save myself, but could we do other things? Is that alright? We can go riding instead if you'd rather do that."

Nappa could think of a type of riding he'd love to participate in with the petite brunette, but he was beyond voicing innuendos as he thought of all the other things they could do without taking her innocence. "We could definitely stay inside," he managed hoarsely, wondering just how far she was willing to go. Probably just some more kissing, but he'd happily trade all of the money he had stashed away for more of her kisses, so when she nervously tugged him towards the bed again he sat down beside her heavily, hesitating to be the first to make a move.

He didn't want to offend her or scare her off, and Ami read him like a book and dared to pull him down to her, smiling as she captured his lips with hers, a giggle erupting from her when he instantly groaned and returned the kiss zealously, his lips bruising hers in their intensity. Well, he certainly wasn't hesitating anymore, was he? "It's ok, Roy…" She murmured between kisses.

Her words were met by his hands lifting her into his lap, and Roy couldn't stop himself from grinding up into her when she pressed against him tightly, kneeling on the bed and rocking over him in response to his lascivious movements. "You say the word and I'll stop," he assured her as he dared to slide his hand to her inner thigh and the gap in her knickers, hardening painfully in his trousers when he brushed the thatch of curls between her legs. But she was stiffening against him in reaction to being touched there, so he stopped even though she hadn't asked him to. "Ami, do you trust me?"

There was a moment of hesitation, but Ami nodded and forced herself to relax again, trembling afresh when he cupped her intimately and pressed a finger into her soaked folds. The shock of ecstasy that immediately ran through her made her jump, and she couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief. Sure, she'd heard from Mina that women could feel sexual pleasure, but she certainly hadn't expected it to feel _that_ good!

"You never tried this by yourself in private," he guessed, his cheeks heating up at the thought of the little teacher—_his_ little teacher—with her hand up her skirts and her voice moaning and sighing his name as she took herself to the heights of ecstasy.

"I—no—of _course not_!" She stammered out. "That would be indecent, Roy! Ladies… ladies don't do _that_." Okay, fine, her cousin Mina did and had told her about how good it felt, and Ami had read about it in The Romance of Lust, but Ami knew deep down that she'd likely die of embarrassment if she ever attempted such a thing, if only because she'd have to confess it in church later on! _Sweet Jesus, the father's going to drop his Bible in the confessional when I have to tell him about __**this**__, _she realized suddenly, even though the thought wasn't enough to stop her from letting Roy continue to stoke the flames of the fire he'd only just kindled.

"Heh… there's nothing wrong with it, darlin', trust me." To prove his point, Roy stroked her again, focusing on her swollen clit, and her immediate moan and the way her blue eyes grew hazy told him that he was definitely doing it right. "Lay down," he whispered before kissing her gently and turning them so that she was on her back. "Just trust me," he repeated when she stiffened in reaction to having him hovering over her. "I won't take your virtue, I swear it, Ami."

"But… but what about you?" She wondered aloud when he lowered himself on top of her.

"Oh, I'll definitely enjoy this," he assured her as he trailed his lips over her jawline and his fingers worked the buttons on the front of her dress. Before, when he'd dared to kiss her neck, she'd been nervous, but this time she was panting breathlessly and tipping her chin back to afford him better access, baring her throat to him in perfect trust and moaning softly at the sensation of his tongue tracing her pulse and the lovebites he'd left there last time.

He didn't linger there for too long, though; he travelled lower as her buttons were freed and he pushed her dress down her shoulders, pulling the tie of her chemise to loosen it and fully bare her breasts to him. An aroused nipple was in his mouth the moment they came into view, and Roy's hand immediately returned to her thighs, stroking its way inwards to massage her intimately.

It felt too good for her to even fathom thinking about stopping him, and Ami could only whimper and moan as she cradled his head to her breast and arched into his skilled fingertips, her legs winding instinctively around his waist, her body aching for more of what she'd never known. "Roy," she panted, "it feels so good…"

"It's going to feel even better in a minute, sweetheart," he murmured, withdrawing his fingers from her soaked folds to unfasten his trousers. She was definitely wet enough for him, but while he desperately wanted to feel her walls squeezing him as he made her come for the first time, she'd asked him not to take her innocence and he would wait as long as she needed him to. "This is where I need you to trust me," he told her as he bared himself and pushed her skirts up to her hips.

Ami blushed hotly at the indecency of being seen, but he'd obviously anticipated that and was quick to lower her dress once he was pressing to her and giving her a tender smile and a kiss. She hadn't even seen him, so she relaxed and focused on what he felt like, long and thick and curiously hard, pressing tightly against her sex.

He was kissing her again as soon as she moved her hips experimentally, a gasp leaving her mouth when she felt him slide smoothly along the receptive flesh he'd been massaging with his fingers, and Ami returned the kiss heatedly as she dug her nails into his lower back, her legs winding around his waist once again.

She was admittedly nervous and feeling more than a little shy when he started to move against her slowly, but when he broke the kiss and panted heavily with every breath, Ami couldn't help but feel empowered as she looked up at him through her lashes.

_She _was doing this to him, _she_ was the one reducing him to a helpless, wheezing pile of quivering man, and _she_ was the one he was gazing at with so much stormy emotion in his eyes. "D—Does is feel good for you, too?" Ami asked innocently when he groaned her name softly and began to worship her breasts again with his lips and tongue, the gentle sucking and licking adding to her pleasure as began to spread throughout her belly.

"_So_ good," he purred before taking the other nipple in his mouth, his massive frame trembling against her as he tried his best to keep from finishing before she'd had her release.

His pace quickened then and she moaned at the added friction as he ground down against her harder, the warmth in her becoming a fire that wiped everything from her mind but him. "Roy… Roy, it feels… oh God…"

"Come for me, beautiful," he encouraged her, raising his head to watch her in the throes of passion, aching to finally know what she looked like as she came. Roy wasn't disappointed, either, and his breath was taken away when her half-shut eyes locked with his just as she climaxed, her lips parting as she panted for air and moaned, and when her head rolled back in surrender to him he couldn't stop from bending his mouth to her throat to lick and suck at it aggressively. "So damned beautiful," he growled as he felt his own release beginning and he no longer tried to resist it.

He barely muffled his cry of pleasure in time by kissing her, knowing that it'd be heard outside the cabin by anyone close by, and as he floated back down to Earth and sagged on top of Ami, he emitted a satisfied groan. "Even better than I imagined it, darlin'… what about you?"

"It… it was amazing," she stammered out, still in awe and starry-eyed from the level of ecstasy he'd just shared with her. "Will it be that wonderful every time?"

"Even better with me inside of you," he said softly, "but we can wait, Ami." Roy lifted himself off of her then with a grunt, and when he saw the mess he'd left her lower belly, he had the grace to look sheepish and pulled out a handkerchief, cleaning up his seed quickly before she realized that he could see her beneath her dress. "Thank God, I managed not to muss your dress." He glanced back up at her then, and her flushed cheeks and hazy eyes melted him right on the spot. She was so goddamned beautiful, how did she not see it? "Wish I could stay the night," he thought aloud. "Wake up to your face… to that smile."

"Actually… I wish you could, too," she admitted shyly as she sat up, blushing hotly when she spilled out of her dress and working hurriedly to button the front of it shut once more. "But how long do you think we'll have before someone reports seeing your horse?"

It was hard to resist the desire to stay over especially when she was voicing a longing for the same, but Nappa admitted that she was right; Doc would surely find out that Sloane was in the same stable as Daisy and he'd come hunting with his sons in tow. "Maybe when I get back?" He asked hopefully. "I could ride double into town with Clyde and he could drop me off."

The idea certainly wasn't a bad one, and the more she thought about it, the more Ami wanted the experience of snuggling next to him and falling asleep in his arms, then waking in the morning to find him still there. "If you'd really like to, then yes," she answered softly. "You'll come to see me again on Monday?"

"Yes, ma'am, I will," he promised seriously, even though his lips were twitching up at the worry in her eyes. "Don't fret about me or the job, darlin', I've gone out and done far worse and come out unscathed. I'll be here Monday, come Hell or high water. I swear it."

Roy never broke his promises, so that gave Ami some peace, and she nodded as she drew him down to her. For the first time since they'd met, she was finally daring to let herself hope without attempting to squash the emotion, and the kiss she gave him was as unbridled and passionate as it had been only minutes before with her half-naked and him on top of her. "Come back to me safe, Royston," she finally whispered, her nails trailing lightly over his stubbled jaw as she regarded him with a heavy, no-nonsense stare.

"I wouldn't dare do otherwise, darlin'."

**WOO! Another chapter for me to edit now and stick in the file I'm using for the book! R&R yall, I'm really trying to bust this out along with Trust! And if you *haven't* read Trust yet, go check it out, everyone seems to really like it so far!**


End file.
